24 Hour Race in Dubai
Third
Porsche win in succession
The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a Sports Car and Touring Car Automobile Endurance Race
held annually at the Dubai Autodrome. It was inaugurated in 2006 and
serves as a one of the ultimate tests for both the endurance of the Driver and Machine.
With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR,
works driver Patrick Pilet (France) and Porsche Junior Marco Holzer
(Germany), supported by Raymond Narac (France), won the Dubai 24 hour
race by a clear margin. For Porsche, this marks the third straight win
at the long distance race on the Gulf.
“This is my first victory at a
24 hour race. I’m totally happy,” said a delighted Marco Holzer (21) as
he climbed out of the cockpit after the sweltering race with
sweat-drenched overalls. “It’s a crazy feeling to cross the finish line
and see all those cheering people at the pit wall.”
 The 911 GT3 RSR
fielded by the French IMSA Performance Matmut team turned the 608 laps
on the 5.390 kilometre circuit in the Dubai Autodrome without any major
mishaps.
The most successful GT sports car of the 2009 season, with championship
titles in the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series and the FIA
GT Championship, took off into the race from pole position to hold the
lead for most of the time.
Although it was virtually a flag to flag victory for the Imsa Mamut
team they were pushed hard throughout the 24 hours by the two BMWs of
Japanese team Petronas Syntium Team and Saudi Arabian entry Al Faisal
Racing. Both teams gave relentless pursuit throughout the 24 hours but
the Petronas Syntium Team had to settle for second place overall, a
mere three laps behind the leaders after the 24 hours. They were Class
A5 winners.
Only one heart-stopping moment occurred in the first hour, when start
driver Patrick Pilet collided whilst lapping a slower competitor,
causing some damage to the rear axle of his Porsche. “Initially, we
feared it would affect the tyres,” the Porsche works driver commented,
“but luckily that was not the case. We were still able to attack and
turn fast lap times to the finish.”
Some of the pre-race favourites fell by the wayside including last
year’s winners, the number 1 Land Motorsport-Porsche which was
sidelined after the engine was over revved. One of the biggest
incidents during the race was the number AF Corse Ferrari which was
involved in a collision with a slower car with NASCAR star Michael
Waltrip at the wheel. The American veteran could not avoid collision
with an out of control car appeared in his path on the track. The
Ferrari incurred considerable damage and was forced to retire.
With this victory, Marco Holzer starts the new season as he finished
the old one. With Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) he won the season
final of the FIA GT Championship in Zolder, and now the 24 hour race in
Dubai with Patrick Pilet and Raymond Narac. “Things can definitely
continue like this,” said the Porsche Junior, who obviously enjoyed his
first race for the IMSA Performance Matmut squad. “They were extremely
welcoming and everyone helped me. A huge thank you for that.”
Porsche was by far the most
successful manufacturer at the first long distance race of the season:
Of the top ten race cars to finish, aside from the winning 911 GT3 RSR,
seven were the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Race Info...
The race features both a variety
of Grand Tourer(GT), Touring Cars as well as Specially-built Silohuette Cars from a wide range of Marques which are eligible to enter. These
range from small-engined Super 2000 Hatchbacks (such as the Renault Clio
and Honda Civic) to Racing-Bred Sport Cars (such as the Porsche 911 GT3
& Marcos Mantis GT.
A method of performance-balancing
by the organisers of the event is existent throughout many of the
classes featured in the Endurance Race. An example of this can be
witnessed in the A2 Class whereby Super 1600 cars race alongside Super
2000 and run on equal performance as the 1,600-cc cars are allowed to
carry less weight. Other factors such as a larger fuel tank and also
the tire manufacturer for specific classes or ensure even competition.
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Race result
1. M. Holzer/P. Pilet/R.
Narac (D/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 608 laps
2. N. Taniguchi/M.
Yanagida/F. Hairuman/J. Stuck/H.Yoshida (J/J/MAL/A/J), BMW Z4 M, 605
3. A. Al Faisal/C.
Hürtgen/M. Hartung/K. Al Faisal (KSA/D/D/KSA),
BMW Z4 M, 603
4. J. Häring/T.
Konstantinou/R. Münnich/M. Basseng (D/GR/D/D),
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 588
5. R. Lukas/M. M.
Miekos/S. Bilinski/T. Myszkowski/A. Kornacki (PL/PL/PL/PL/PL),
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 573
6. H. Schmersal/M.
Stursberg/S. Rösler/C. Koslowski (D/D/D/D),
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 568
According to the official website
of the Dubai 24Hour, the Endurance race is open to both Professional
and Semi-Professional Teams. There are both local competitors from the UAE and surrounding nations in the Gulf as well as a host of international
teams particularly from European Nations.
Unlike the 24 Hours of Le Mans in
France whereby teams are invited by the organizers
to compete, the Dubai 24Hour is solely made up of teams who have
registered prior to the commencing of the actual Race. Entrants must
file in a registration application inorder to have a chance at
competing. Entry and registration fees also apply for competitors.
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