McDonald ‘Getting a Flavor’ of 24-Hour Racing in Dubai

Blake McDonald hopes to ‘get a flavor’ of 24-hour racing as he joins Dragon Racing for his debut outing in the Michelin 24H Dubai ahead of a planned GT World Challenge America powered by AWS program with DXDT Racing later this year.

The American racer shares the No. 88 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Matt Bell and compatriots Patrick Liddy and Dustin Blattner for the Middle Eastern enduro.

The event comes ahead of a planned season of GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, with McDonald and Bell confirmed on Wednesday to be sharing a DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for the American campaign this year.

“We did Asian Le Mans last year here in an LMP2,” McDonald told Sportscar365.

“And, I mean, who doesn’t love Dubai? So an excuse to come back to Dubai, an excuse to get a lot of seat time in the GT3 platform and get used to the 24-hour format.

“Because the ultimate goal for a lot further on down the road is more longer endurance stuff.

“Just to get a flavor of going throughout the night, trying to sleep, stuff like that.”

By his own admission, the 24H Dubai will be McDonald’s longest race to date, having previously taken on the Indianapolis 8 Hour in his debut with DXDT last October as well as the six-hour Porsche Endurance Challenge event at Circuit of The Americas.

“The limited background I have right now is Porsche Sprint Challenge, which was kind of my main focus in 2024 and 2023,” McDonald said.

“And then I mixed in a bit of Super Trofeo in both those years as well. Good stepping stones. I think they’re both great landing areas for the gentleman driver that wants to take it a little bit more serious than club racing.

“And then for people like me that are trying to work their way even further, it’s a perfect stepping stone to get there.”

Veteran endurance racer Bell, a former Bentley factory driver in his own right, also previously teamed with McDonald when they tackled the Asian Le Mans Series season in a Nielsen Racing Oreca 07 Gibson alongside Liddy.

“I’ve been seeing Blake from earlier than he’s probably been on the radar in terms of national racing stuff,” said Bell.

“I got to know Blake, as I have done with several other guys, from the Thermal Club in California.

“The progression from starting there and working up through the series that he’s done has been really impressive. And that’s why Blake’s got some very lofty ambitions.

“I think they’re entirely achievable. The path that he’s on has been very impressive. And it’s caught the eye of the likes of DXDT and other teams.

“After doing that Indy 8 Hour race, the desire to get Blake in the car was very, very strong.

“Blake and I had many meetings about having a very structured growth into endurance racing and into more serious racing.

“The idea was it would take a while to establish yourself as a good Bronze driver. Then we did the Indy 8 Hour and the phone started ringing off the hook so he seems to have jumped a few rungs of the ladder.

“So yeah, the progression has been very impressive.”

While his 24H Dubai outing is still a few months removed from his full-season GTWC America debut, and in a different car, McDonald maintains there is “lots of stuff” he’ll be able to take from this race into his Corvette campaign.

“The mental preparation is super important, the physical preparation,” he said.

“If you’re going to take it to that level and if you’re going to be competitive at a GT World Challenge America kind of level, you have to dedicate a large portion of your life towards that every day on off track.

“I’m fortunate enough to be in a position in my life where I can dedicate so much time and energy and resources towards it.

“And then specifically for this race, being able to shut off your mind in between stints and try to get sleep and just getting used to that 24-hour format I think is really one of the biggest things I’ll be able to take away from this.”

“I’ve done long stints, I’m not super worried about that. I’m almost more worried [about] how I am going to be able to sleep in between the stints and how am I going to feel in hours 20 and 21.

“How is the track going to look? How dirty is the track? How’s the car? Can we keep the car alive mechanically?

“You have to have a strong stomach to be in endurance racing and that’s mostly why I picked this race specifically.

“The fact that it’s in Dubai made it the deal all that much sweeter. I love coming here in general. The weather is beautiful. For me, it was a perfect storm of greatness.

“My birthday was [Thursday], so I got to spend my birthday racing around in Dubai in a Ferrari. I couldn’t imagine a better way of spending it.”