“Jet Ski Would Have Been Quicker” in Worst Conditions

Photo: WRT

Speaking candidly about the conditions during the downpour that brought the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai to a premature end, Michael Vergers joked that a jet ski would have been quicker than his GT3 car.

Vergers drove the MS7 by WRT Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo alongside 2019 winner Rik Breukers, Audi factory drivers Dries Vanthoor and Christopher Mies, and Saudi driver Mohammed Saud Fahad Al Saud.

The car ultimately finished the race third but Al Saud briefly led towards the end during a pitstop for the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 that ultimately went on to win the race. 

This was during a Code 60 period where cars are limited to a maximum of 60 km/h (37 mph), but Vergers admitted that at certain parts of the track, he could not even reach that speed. 

“It was unbelievable! On the last lap, I was 50 percent throttle and I was floating. On a jet ski we would have been quicker!” he told Radio Le Mans shortly before the red flag.

“The outside, where you generally want to drive in the wet, became undriveable, so you had to drive where everyone else was driving but then you started getting puddles.

“The apex of Turn 1, down the back straight and the last corner, there were puddles everywhere. The last two laps were just incredible, I was backing off down the straight.

“There was lightning, it was so dark as well. [Forget the] Dakar, well I think we’re having it here, I think we’ve got a stage tonight!”

Jake Kilshaw

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