The first race of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship is almost upon us, and to say it's highly anticipated by motorsport fans is probably underselling it a bit.
There are 36 cars, equally split between two stellar classes. Eight manufacturers will race bespoke prototypes in Hypercar, with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie and its naturally-aspirated V12 engine causing fans to go weak at the knees.
Phil Oakley
And in LMGT3, it's as close as ever, with nine manufacturers duking it out for honours in a hotly contested class, which this year includes Mercedes for the first time.
Only Endurance has readied a few predictions for qualifying and the race. We'll come back to these after the on-track action has finished to see how we did.
Race win
Hypercar
Tim: The factory Ferraris are without doubt the cars with the best shot at winning on Friday after very strong runs across the Prologue and into Free Practice. But I'm going to go with my heart over my head on this one, and the prospect of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA scoring the American marque's first win at the inauguration of their partnership would be something very special.
Phil: I can't look past Ferrari for the race win. They've had pace all week and were incredibly strong at the Prologue. They've done a lot of work over the winter to optimise and refine the 499P, and it feels like they're ready to take the next step. Don't get me wrong, they'll have to fight for it. But everything is lining up for a red wave on Friday.
LMGT3
Tim: We look set for a really interesting season in LMGT3 with plenty of driver market shuffles in the off-season. Whilst Lexus have been quick across the Prologue and Free Practice, they have the unfortunate score being the only manufacturer to not score a podium in the category.
TF Sport Corvette had a double podium to round-out 2024, and I think that was an epiphany moment on how to get the job done in LMGT3. Keating to win on his WEC return, the #33 takes the class win.
Phil: This one is harder to predict because it all depends on the bronze and silver drivers. On track the Lexuses have looked fast since the Prologue but I'm not convinced the RC F GT3 has the pace over 10 hours.
I'm going to go slightly left-field and pick the #31 WRT BMW, with its driver duo of Yasser Shahin, Timur Boguslavskiy, and Augusto Farfus. WRT know how to win races and have started the year strong, especially with the win at Bathurst. Shahin proved himself in WEC competition last year, Farfus is quick, and Boguslavskiy is solid.
Pole
Hypercar
Tim: Dries Vanthoor's Rolex 24 pole position was definitely a the start of a new chapter for him, but also for the BMW M Hybrid V8. Our analysis showed that BMW don't necessarily have the race pace, but they were fast in the Prologue and Qualifying will be their chance to grab a headline early doors. The #15, and the younger Vanthoor brother get the pole.
Phil: The new Cadillac-JOTA partnership has started strong and had good one lap pace all week, since the Prologue. While I think Ferrari's well-oiled machine might outdo them over the race distance, I think Cadillac could provide a shock and take pole. Which car? It could be either, but Bourdais is experienced and knows this car well. I'd stick him in the car and and watch him fly.
LMGT3
Tim: The LMGT3 qualifying format has been shuffled for 2025, only Bronze drivers will take part in the knock-out session, with the cars that make it through to the top ten shootout being taken over by the team's Silver-rated driver.
With that in mind, it's hard to overlook the one-lap pace of the Vista AF Corse Ferraris, but I think it will be the 6h Fuji-winning #54 on pole with Francesco Castellacci taking top spot.
Phil: Ben Keating is a weapon in qualifying and knows how to pull performances out of the bag. TF Sport and the Corvette team have looked quick since the Prologue and are understanding the Z06 GT3.R more and more.
The new qualifying format for LMGT3s might throw a spanner in the works, but the team's silver driver, Jonny Edgar, is quick and has been racing in sportscars for a while now.
First retirement
Hypercar
Tim: I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the reliability of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, instead I think that one of the Peugeot 9X8s will be the first to retire. Even in its second iteration, the French LMH has still suffered reliability concerns and more often than not we've seen drivers pull aside for a 'turn it off and on again' protocol with limited success.
Phil: Just because it's a new car, I expect one of the Aston Martin Valkyries to retire at some point with new car teething troubles. It ran faultlessly in the Prologue but stopped on track in the first free practice session, with what Aston Martin called a 'new car glitch'. Will it be the first Hypercar race retirement of the year? Maybe, maybe not. I just hope it gives a good show.
LMGT3
Tim: The Ford Mustangs have had a tough time in LMGT3 over the last year, and that misfortune has carried into 2025 with the #77 Proton Competition car experiencing a significant fire during the Prologue. Given the fact that the car has undergone a complete front-end rebuild, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it throw the towel in first during the race.
Phil: Mercedes and new customer partner Iron Lynx have had some small sensor issues over the week, and while it doesn't appear to be anything serious, it wouldn't surprise me to see a Mercedes retire with similar issues in Qatar. This one is hard to predict because, again, it depends on the bronze and silver drivers. I just hope the Iron Dames' bad luck doesn't continue this year — they deserve to do well after a torrid year in 2024 with Lamborghini.
