Dubai 24h Talking Points

Ahead of the ninth running of the Dubai 24 hour, The Motorsport Journal runs through the seven things to keep an eye on.

1.       Bragging rights for pole position

Land Motorsport's Audi will be a contender for pole with Mies (Christopher Mies).

Everybody knows that winning pole position at a 24 hour race counts for little, but that’s not to say it won’t be hotly contested, especially  considering the calibre of driver the Dubai 24H has attracted for 2016. 

Having now fully recovered from the leg injuries sustained at Misano which cost him a chance at the Blancpain Sprint Series title, Laurens Vanthoor (WRT #19) is an obvious contender, but don’t count out his Audi colleagues Markus Winkelhock (Car Collection #33) and Christopher Mies (Land Motosport #28), FIA GT World Cup winner Maro Engel (Black Falcon #2), Mercedes counterparts Bernd Schneider (Black Falcon #3) and Renger van der Zande (GDL Motorsport #67), or even the #88 Dragon Ferrari of Matt Griffin, who will share with underrated Briton Alex Kapadia. 

2.       First big test for new Mercedes AMG GT3

The new Mercedes AMG GT3 looks mean in RAM colours (Tom Onslow-Cole).

Black Falcon have racked up three wins in the last four years with their trusted SLS AMG and expand to three cars for 2016, but the arrival of a new car presents something of an unknown. Although the AMG GT3, an evolution of the SLS which shares the same engine, has undergone a rigorous testing programme to be ready for Dubai, nothing quite compares to a 24 race when it comes to ironing out weaknesses.

Whilst Black Falcon won’t be contesting the full 24H series, instead using Dubai as a warmup for their VLN and Blancpain campaigns, RAM Racing will be defending their 24H titles with the new car. Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Paul White all return, with 2013 FIA WEC GTE-Am champion Stuart Hall and regular co-driver Roald Goethe coming on board for Dubai. 

3.       Optimum step up to A6 (GT3)

Optimum have tested extensively over the winter (Ryan Ratcliffe).

British GT stalwarts Optimum Motorsport will be gunning for outright honours for the first time having acquired a smart new Audi R8 LMS GT3, one of six entered in the race (one each from WRT, Phoenix, Land Motorsport GmbH and Christian Abt Racing, plus two from Mercedes converts Car Collection Motorsport). 

The Wakefield team’s familiar twosome of Welshman Ryan Ratcliffe and Joe Osborne will be joined by team regular Flick Haigh and the experience of Audi factory driver Frank Stippler, who claimed a surprise pole and finished second at the Spa 24 Hours last year.

4.       First 24 Hour for Renault RS01

The RS01 on the grid for a French GT race at Paul Ricarrd (Boutsen-Ginion).

The Renault RS01 is a quirky addition to the SP6 field, having been detuned from its original race spec in the one-make Renault Sport Trophy to be eligible for competition. Equipe Verschuur dipped a toe in the water at the Gulf 12 Hour, where it’s gentleman line-up finished tenth, managing a best lap-time two seconds off the pace set by Davide Rigon’s race-winning Kessel Ferrari.

Hoping for better on the RS01’s first foray into 24 hour racing this weekend will be the Boutsen-Ginion team. Frenchmen Eric Vaissiere, Andre-Alain Corbel and Daniel Waszczinski will share with Belgian Christophe de Fierlant.

5.       Indycar legend in Porsche

Dan Cammish (right) starts his first 24 hour race in the MSG Porsche (Martin Konrad).

You’d be forgiven for not recognising the majority of the line-up in the #91 HRT Performance Porsche, but the name Alex Tagliani is not one to be sniffed at. Now 43, the French-Canadian IndyCar veteran may have scaled back on his top-flight commitments to one-off appearances at Indianapolis, but as select road course outings with Team Penske in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have shown, ‘Tags’ has lost none of his speed, or his passion.  A promising endurance career beckons for the man who won pole for the 500 only five years ago and who has his own range of oatmeal cookies!

The 991 class features some very strong names; Alex Premat headlines the no. 92 B2F Competition entry, while the no. 40 Lechner Racing Middle East Porsche can boast the talents of Sven Muller – second in the Supercup last year – and Lada WTCC racer Jaap van Lagen, who won at Monaco in a one-off appearance with Fach Auto Tech. One to watch could be the no.63 Austrian MSG-entered Porsche, in which runaway Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Dan Cammish will start his first 24 hour race alongside Facundo Regalia, who finished second to Daniil Kvyat in GP3 in 2013.  

6.       British GT teams to contest SP3

Century have partnered with the University of Bolton for 2016 (Century Motorsport).

The SP3 class for GT4 cars has attracted several names from the British GT grid, who will face up against a cluster of German and Dutch entered BMWs, the Italian Nova Race Ginettas and a Czech KTM X-Bow.

Century Motorsport are set to field two Ginetta G55s; the University of Bolton-backed no. 229 will be driven by team boss Nathan Freke and Anna Walewska – already confirmed as team-mates in British GT – with Ginetta Supercup champion Tom Oliphant and Aleksander Schjerpen completing a very strong looking line-up, while former BTCC racer Ollie Jackson and Jake Rattenbury headline the second car.

As well as their SP6 Audi, Optimum Motorsport keep faith in their Ginetta G55, which will be driven by 2007 British GT champion Bradley Ellis, Ade Barwick, Dan O’Brien and Elliott Norris.

Title contenders in GT3 for Motorbase last year, Rory Butcher and Liam Griffin team up once again in JW Bird Motorsport’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Liam’s brother Kieran, who raced for the team last year, and 2014 British GT4 champion Jake Giddings complete the line-up. 

Speedworks Motorsport have also entered an Aston Martin, with John Gilbert and Devon Modell the two named drivers when The Motorsport Journal went to press. Both race winners last year, Jamie Stanley and Oz Yusuf team up in Track Club’s Lotus Exige, where they will be joined by Adam Knight and Glenn Sherwood.

7.       Magic of Istanbul in A3 class

Dudek joins Fabien Barthez in the goalkeepers-turned racers club (Liverpool FC).

It can be tempting to overlook the smaller classes with such a quality SP6 entry battling for the outright victory, but the presence of Jerzy Dudek in the RTG by Gladysz Racing SEAT Leon Supercopa means that won’t be easy. 

The goalkeeper in Liverpool’s unforgettable comeback in the 2005 Champions League final, 42-year-old Dudek will be forever remembered for his instinctive double save from Andriy Shevchenko at the end of extra time to take the game to penalties, before saving from Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko in the shootout. Hopefully the Pole will bring a sprinkling of that same magic to the A3 class too.