Driver Lineups Set in Updated 20-Car GT3 Grid for 24H Dubai

A total of 20 GT3 entries from seven manufacturers are signed up to contest next weekend’s Hankook 24H Dubai.

As shown on an updated 54-car overall entry list released on Thursday, Porsche is represented by six entries, with five cars from Mercedes, four from Audi and three from BMW. Ferrari and McLaren are present on the grid with a single car each.

Defending winners Team WRT are set for its first race outing with BMW. The Belgian squad was previously confirmed to field a pair of BMW M4 GT3s, albeit with a minor tweak to the lineup for the No. 46 car headlined by Valentino Rossi.

Rossi, Tim Whale and FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 driver Sean Gelael will partner a pair of factory drivers in Maxime Martin and Max Hesse.

Defending race winners Dries Vanthoor and Mohammed Al Saud will team up with Jens Klingmann, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Diego Menchaca aboard the sister No. 7 car.

A third BMW will be entered by Poulsen Motorsport and driven by Kristian Poulsen, Roland Poulsen, Kasper H. Jensen and Gustav Birch.

Team GP-Elite, which came close to winning the inaugural Hankook 12H Kuwait last year, field a single Porsche 911 GT3 R for the all-Dutch lineup of Lucas Groeneveld, Jesse van Kuijk, Daan van Kuijk and Max van Splunteren.

The Netherlands-based outfit is joined in the Porsche ranks by a previously confirmed Grove Racing effort that features Anton de Pasquale and Earl Bamber, a pair of cars from Herbert Motorsport and the Saalocin by Kox Racing squad that will see the father-daughter pairing of Peter and Stephane Kox team up with former pro cyclist Tom Boonen.

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and Benelux champion Harry King is set for his GT3 debut aboard the No. 911 car entered by Pxre Racing that also features Sven Mueller, Joel Sturm and Alex Malykhin.

Audi is represented by entries from Sainteloc Junior Team, Phoenix Racing, Haas RT and Attempto Racing, the latter of which has yet to confirm its team of drivers.

GT4 graduate Erwan Bastard, who made his debut during the Gulf 12 Hours last December, is set for his 24-hour race debut in the No. 26 Sainteloc Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II alongside Christian Kelders, Simon Gachet and European Le Mans Series LMP3 racer Antoine Doquoin.

The No. 21 HAAS RT Audi, meanwhile, features Audi factory driver Frederic Vervisch and former Bentley ace Maxime Soulet alongside Mathieu Detry, Olivier Bertels and Benjamin Mazatis.

It should be noted that the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged operation has no affiliation with the similarly named Formula 1 operation.

The Mercedes contingent is headlined by a pair of previously announced cars from HRT as well as the SPS Automotive Performance-run Heart of Racing entry.

It is joined by single-car efforts from Dutch junior single seater squad MP Motorsport and reigning Championship of the Continents winner CP Racing.

Finally, the lone 7TSIX McLaren 720S GT3 is joined by a single Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo for French squad Visiom, the lineup of which notably features 13-time 24 Hours of Le Mans starter Christophe Tinseau.