Herberth Motorsport upset the odds by earning pole position for the 2024 Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours in their Am class Porsche 911 GT3R (992) during a dramatic and exciting qualifying session at Yas Marina Circuit.
Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer and Dustin Blattner were the fastest of the 24-car field, beating Pro and Pro-Am class rivals thanks to their three-lap average time of 1min 52.896secs. Click on the Results tab at the top for full results.
Herberth Motorsport will therefore start the first part of 14th Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours race from the front, for an initial eight-hour endurance contest. The event’s unique format then sees a two-hour break, before the race one leader starts a closing four-hour race from pole position.
Alfred Renauer, who set the decisive final qualifying lap, said: “It was mega. We didn’t expect to get this pole with an Am car. In the race we are competing against a lot of Pro and Pro-Am cars so it will be hard. It’s a long race and but I don’t expect the same result. Our goal is to finish in the top five, but it would be nice to get an Am class win as well.”
The glamourous Yas Marina Circuit once again reverberated to the sounds of the world’s best GT3 race cars, from an exciting entry list of 24 cars from 19 teams representing Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche on a warm Abu Dhabi night.
A red flag midway through the last of four qualifying sessions ensured a climactic ending, as a spectacular field of GT cars fought it out for pole position. Close competition as lap times saw multiple GT3 cars challenge for pole in the closing minutes.
Kessel Racing was the closest challenger but Ferrari factory star Davide Rigon’s final flying lap was not quite enough for pole. He set the fastest time of the day in the Ferrari 296 GT3 he shares with Murat Cuhadaroglu, David Cleto Fumanelli and Giorgio Roda but the Pro-Am car finished second, 0.131secs on average.
Proton Huber Competition was the leading Pro car in third place, making it three classes in the top three positions to highlight the close and exciting competition. Sven Müller, Sergei Borisov and Sergey Stolyarov were at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3R (992) and they will aim to become the first-ever Porsche winner of the Gulf 12 Hours.
For the first time, a dedicated Porsche Cup class adds another level of competition to the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours and witnessed an impressive performance from the QMMF by HRT Performance Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. The trio of Qatari drivers, Ghanim Salah Al-Madheed, Ibrahim Ali Al-Abdulghani, Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Germany’s Julian Hanses impressed on their way to becoming the first-ever Gulf 12 Hours Porsche Cup class pole winners.
With qualifying results so close, and the added dimension of Pro, Pro Am and Am classes together at the front, the 14th Gulf 12 Hours promises to be a thrilling spectacle. Fans across the world can follow the action via a live stream at www.youtube.com/gulfmotorsport. Race one begins at 9am local time (6am CET / midnight EST), before the drama of a second start under lights at Yas Marina, from 7pm local time (4pm CET / 10am EST).
For the first time, ticket holders for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix can automatically enjoy the spectacle of GT cars racing into the night, with free entry to the Gulf 12 Hours.