Magnussen just off the podium for his first WEC race with BMW: "The best result we could have hoped for"

It was one of the big attractions of this opening round in WEC, in Qatar: Kevin Magnussen, ex-pilot of F1 in Haas, competed in his first race in the World ChampionshipEndurance with BMW Team WRT. Aboard the #15, alongside Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello, the Dane experienced a lively first race, sometimes eventful, but with a solid result at the finish. At the checkered flag, the German Hypercar finished 4th behind the three Ferrari, untouchable in Losail. Although he failed to reach the podium, the 32-year-old driver is delighted with his first performance in the WEC and his first result.

"I'm happy. I think we got the best result we could have hoped for with the pace we had, even though I think we could have executed the race better, Kevin Magnussen told us in the mixed zone after the finish of the 1812km of Qatar. The good news is the team has done a great job with the pit stops and the strategy. We have had a few glitches that we need to work out and fix, but BMW and Team WRT have clearly made a big step forward with this car, which is good to see."

A limiter problem for Magnussen

While the crew of the #15 had a great weekend overall, including a front row start alongside the #51 Ferrari, not everything was perfect for the Magnussen – Vanthoor – Marciello trio. The Dane, who started the race, was first overtaken by the second factory Ferrari on the first corner. Then, the ex-Formula 1 driver lost several positions after the first Full Course Yellow due to a problem with his limiter. "For some reason I couldn't deactivate the limiter of the Full Course Yellow (where the car is limited to 80 km/h, Ed.). I don't know the technical explanation yet, but it didn't happen again after that point. I'm sure it will be fixed soon.", Kevin Magnussen briefly explained.

Relegated out of the top 10 and one lap behind the leaders after the first relay, the #15 BMW also suffered a drive-through penalty after four hours of racing following a collision with one of the Ferraris. Nevertheless, after all these mishaps, the Magnussen – Vanthoor – Marciello crew managed the rest of the race perfectly, gradually climbing the hierarchy and taking advantage of the safety cars to get back to the front of the pack. With a hellish pace towards the end of the race, the BMW M Hybrid V8 was able to slot in between the Ferraris and the Toyota at the arrival of the 1812km of Qatar.

For Kevin Magnussen, a month after his 4th place at the 24 Hours of Daytona in IMSA, so it's a new 4th place that he obtained in Qatar in WEC. Good starts before aiming for better? "This championship will be played on consistency, we will have to take points in each race and eliminate the errors. Of course, if we can take a podium or a victory, we will be very happy, but we want to win the championship and the 24H of Le Mans. This is our goal.", recalls the Dane, whose reconversion to Endurance has already been successful.

Interview by Valentin Glo, in Losail

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