81 Cars Pre-Registered for Gulf 12H in Oversubscribed Entry

Photo: SRO

A record number of competitors have pre-registered for this year’s Gulf 12 Hours, which will close out the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season on Dec. 10.

Event promoter Driving Force Events Ltd. confirmed Tuesday that 81 individual GT3 cars, representing 49 teams, are on the initial pre-entry list for the race, marking an all-time level of interest for the around-the-clock enduro at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The grid is set to be limited to 36 cars to ensure “high-quality garage and team facilities” with the process of confirming the entry list now underway.

“The strong response to pre-registration for the 2023 edition is further proof that the Gulf 12 Hours has established itself as the go-to event for GT3 drivers, teams and manufacturers,” said event promoter Andrea Ficarelli.

“We are of course aware that several teams that have registered their interest will not necessarily be able to formalize their entries, but nevertheless the level of interest this year is truly record-breaking.

“We therefore expect to achieve sold-out status very soon on the way to another capacity Gulf 12 Hours grid.”

Entries featuring at least one Bronze-rated driver will be given priority alongside full-season IGTC entrants and manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche that will be competing in SRO Motorsports Group’s classification.

This year’s race will be exclusively reserved for GT3 cars, with a six-hour support race, dubbed the Yas Island 6 Hours, set to take place on Dec. 9 and will be open to GT2 and GT Cup machinery.

Further information on the six-hour race will be issued to competitors later this week.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John