Photo: John Dagys
Fach Auto Tech will start the 10th anniversay Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai from pole after setting the fastest time in qualifying at the Dubai Autodrome.
Martin Ragginger in the No. 12 Fach Auto Tech Porsche 997 GT3 R lapped the 3.34-mile Dubai Autodrome with a best time 1:57.562, outpacing Yelmer Buurman in the No. 2 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 by 0.302 seconds.
Ragginger’s time came in the second and final 30-minute qualifying session of the day, which saw significant improvements for the majority of the A6 class competitors.
The Austrian will share driving duties with Otto Klohs, Jens Richter and Porsche Junior driver Sven Mueller, as Porsche looks to claim back-to-back overall victories in the Middle East’s only twice-around-the-clock enduro.
Defending race winner Christian Engelhart qualified the No. 1 Stadler Motorsport Porsche in third, ahead of the No. 30 Ram Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 in fourth.
Last year’s pole-sitter Nicky Pastorelli qualified the former factory Corvette C6.R in fifth, ahead of two-time race winner Jeroen Bleekemolen in the No. 3 Abu Dhabi Racing by Black Falcon Mercedes.
KPM Racing’s Jonny Adam in the No. 28 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and Christiaan Frankenhout in the No. 9 Hofor Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 completed the top-eight.
In the A6-Am class, Nissan GT Academy Team RJN was closest to the 2:04 lap time limit. The Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, driven by Florian Strauss, Ricardo Sanchez, Ahmed Bin Khanen, Nick Hammann and Gaetan Paletou, set a fastest lap of 2:04.009.
The No. 25 Black Falcon Porsche secured pole position in the 997-class, while Optimum Motorsport claimed pole in SP3 with their No. 163 Ginetta G55 GT4.
Other class pole sitters are the No. 150 GC Automobile GC10 (SP2), the No. 77 JR Motorsport BMW (A5), the No. 95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat (A3T), the No. 57 LAP57 Racing Honda (A2) and the No. 74 MBP Racing Team BMW (Cup1).
The final A6 session was ended with a red flag, as the No. 15 Glorax Racing Ferrari 458 Italia of Isaac Tutumlu and the No. 62 STP Racing Porsche 991 Cup of Dan Welch crashed heavily with just under two minutes to go.
Both drivers walked away from the accident after assessing the damage to their cars.
The 24 Hours of Dubai gets underway Friday at 2 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET).
RESULTS: Combined Qualifying
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