FIA WEC Sensational LM GT3 class win at the opening round of the season, the Qatar 1812KM
BRDC Superstars athlete Jonny Edgar kickstarted his debut FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with a sensational LM GT3 class win at the opening round of the season, the Qatar 1812KM.
The first of an eight race season for Jonny and his TF Sport Corvette team took place at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, just days after the official pre-season test, otherwise known as “The Prologue” took place.
Jonny and his team appeared to hit the ground running in The Prologue, always ending the sessions in the top five. The 21 year old and his teammates Dani Juncadella and Ben Keating would also go on to top the penultimate session, putting the team in high hopes for the opening round.
An altered schedule to accommodate Ramadan in the region meant that the opening round of the FIAWEC season would take place in cool conditions with Practice on Wednesday and Qualifying on Thursday, followed by the 10 hour race on Friday.
Official practice ran drama free as the BRDC Superstars driver and his crew continued to fine tune their Corvette for the super smooth Lusail International Circuit. They moved into qualifying day looking like strong contenders in a highly competitive LM GT3 field. As per the regulations, the team’s bronze driver, Ben Keating was required to drive the car in qualifying but unfortunately wasn’t able to progress into Hyperpole, setting the 13th fastest time of the session.
The team elected to have Ben start the race, in order to complete his minimum driving time. Ben kept the team in the fight and moved up into the top 10 and by the time he handed the car over to Jonny for his first stint, the #33 Corvette team was in the top 5 and closing in on the leading pack.
Jonny’s first stint of the race ran without any problems under the cover of darkness and the D Tolson & Sons supported driver showed his maturity and raw speed to keep the team in the hunt and push their iconic yellow Corvette Z06 GT3.R. further up the order. By the time Jonny handed the car to his teammate Dani Juncadella, the team were leading their class.
Before the end of the race, Jonny would complete one more stint, which once again ran without fault, with Jonny setting a very competitive pace to keep the team in the fight for the LM GT3 win.
Dani Juncadella would take over the driving duties for the finish and withstood tremendous pressure from the chasing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, driven by Gregorie Saucy to open the team’s 2025 season with an impressive class victory.
Jonny: “This is a very special moment. To make the step up to the FIA WEC was already very important for my career but to get a win on debut is incredible. Especially when we started back in 13th at the start of the race. The whole team did an amazing job in what’s been a long and busy week here in Qatar. Ben and Dani put in some mega stints, it was very impressive what Dani did in that final stint and I hope there are more rounds like this to come. It goes without saying but I’m grateful for everyone’s support from my sponsors, to my management team at Infinity and the team here at TF Sport who have got me comfortable and up to speed with the Corvette.”
The result means Jonny Edgar, Dani Juncadella and Ben Keating sit at the top of the LM GT3 drivers’ standings.
The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship will take place on 20 April but before then, Jonny will be reunited with the AO racing team and their famous “Spike The Dragon” LMP2 car for the Sebring 12 Hours from 12-15 March. After finishing last year’s race in an impressive P4 in class, Jonny will be looking to get his first podium in the IMSA Endurance Cup. The race will be streamed live on YouTube.
