Haase: Car Collection’s 24H Dubai Win “Not Easy”

Photo: Petr Fryba/Creventic

Car Collection Motorsport’s commanding victory in the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai did not come as easily as it appeared, according to Christopher Haase.

The team led all but 47 laps of the 24H Series season opener with its new Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo that debuted last month at the Gulf 12 Hours.

While Haase, Frederic Vervisch, Rik Breukers and Dimitri Parhofer enjoyed a two-lap advantage for most of the race, Haase assured that the race wasn’t as straightforward as it looked to onlookers.

“I think maybe it looked easy, but we were pushing each lap on max attack,” he told Sportscar365.

“We had a bit of slight contact that I have seen on the car, but it was just a little bit of bodywork and that’s it. We pushed hard, it was for sure not easy.

“Straight away from the beginning on, we worked really hard.

“I have to say, Car Collection Motorsport did a great job, strategy-wise, which was for sure the main point. We had no troubles, which is always good in a 24-hour race!

“I really enjoyed this weekend working with the boys.”

The race win for Audi’s updated GT3 challenger comes after a largely successful showing for the car in its first two races, with MS7 by WRT’s car finishing runner-up at Dubai and five of the eight cars present finishing in the top ten.

Haase, Parhofer and Markus Winkelhock combined to finish second in the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi just four weeks ago in the car’s debut appearance.

“We came here even better prepared than we ended up in Abu Dhabi,” Haase explained.

“I’m really happy with how the car is handling and I’m really looking forward to Daytona.

“There are still things, because when you have a new update, you learn at each race a bit more about the car.”

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.