BREAKING NEWS: Aston Martin’s Qatar WEC Race Marred by Dramatic Door Malfunction
The Qatar 1812km World Endurance Championship race took a dramatic turn for Aston Martin on Friday when one of their car doors was blown clean off midway through the competition. Danish driver Marco Sorensen was behind the wheel of the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie when the gull-wing door suddenly opened at high speed, leaving him with a precarious situation to navigate.
Sorensen’s race engineer quickly alerted him to the issue, instructing him to either close the door or bring the car in for repairs. However, with the door on the opposite side of the car, Sorensen was unable to reach across and was forced to attempt to nurse the car back to the pits, all while trying to avoid exacerbating the problem.
Commentators Martin Haven and Graham Goodwin provided play-by-play analysis of the incident, with Haven drawing parallels to similar incidents in the past. “Those of a certain vintage may remember doors blowing off 956 Porsches in the early Group C days,” he said. “They have probably changed the drinks bottle or pumped something into the oil system and not latched it all the way closed.”
Goodwin chimed in, warning of the potential consequences of Sorensen’s predicament. “He’s going to have to be really careful here because he’s on the wrong side of the car, he doesn’t want the air to rip it off.” Despite Sorensen’s best efforts, the door ultimately gave way to the wind, blowing off its hinges after a full minute of Sorensen driving with the malfunction.
The incident left Aston Martin with significant work to do to get the car track-ready once Sorensen had returned to the pits. Pundit Anthony Davidson was critical of Sorensen’s driving, labeling it “irresponsible” and suggesting that he should have slowed down to avoid exacerbating the problem.
Sorensen’s gull-wing door mishap occurred 32 laps into the 335-lap race. Later in the competition, another controversy arose when Cadillac driver and former F1 world champion Jenson Button was accidentally rammed into by his own teammate while leading the race. Button and Alex Lynn were making strong progress three hours into the competition before making contact behind the safety car, resulting in significant damage to both cars.
The incident forced both drivers to return to the pits for repairs, dealing a significant blow to their chances of securing a strong finish. Despite the setbacks, the Qatar WEC race provided plenty of drama and excitement, with teams and drivers pushing themselves to the limit in pursuit of victory.
