No. 77 Ford Set for Qatar FP1 Return After Fire

Photo: Charly Lopez/DPPI

The No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 is set to return for the opening Free Practice session of the Qatar 1812km, missing the remainder of the FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue after suffering damage due to a fire.

Ben Tuck, who shares the car with Bernardo Sousa and Ben Barker, was at the wheel of the white-liveried Mustang GT3 when it caught fire with less than 30 minutes remaining in the opening Prologue session on Friday.

It subsequently missed the four-hour night session and is also set to go absent from the remaining seven hours of track action on Saturday.

However, Proton team principal Christian Ried confirmed to Sportscar365 that the car is set to be ready in time for the first practice session ahead of WEC’s season opener at the Lusail International Circuit.

Official track action for the Qatar 1812km kicks off on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET).

Proton operates two further cars in the world championship this season: a second Ford for Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato and Dennis Olsen as well as its customer Porsche 963 Hypercar piloted by Neel Jani, Nico Pino and Nico Varrone.

Ried himself, meanwhile, returns to full-time driving as part of the lineup for the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.