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Gulf 12H

Abu Dhabi Wednesday Notebook

John Dagys’ Wednesday notebook from Gulf 12 Hours…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

***A total of 19 cars are set for Friday’s Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, following the withdrawal of the second Wolf GB08. It leaves only a single CN car in the race, now fielded by Wolf’s Portuguese distributor CRM instead of the factory Avelon Formula squad.

***There are a number of additional cars in the paddock, but not racing due to deals not coming together. It includes MRS-GT Racing’s Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, second Ferrari 458 Italia GT3s from Dragon Racing and Rinaldi Racing, as well as a 2nd Motorbase Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

***The MRS-GT Nissan turned laps in FP2 but will not race. The German squad utilized the session to complete a shakedown of the car prior to next month’s Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai. No fewer than three Maserati GranTurismo MCs were also spotted during the Gulf 12H night session.

***Pierre Kaffer has been a late addition to the race, joining Steve Parrow and Alexander Volz in the Black Pearl by Rinaldi Racing Ferrari. GT star Kaffer and Parrow took part in the majority of this year’s Blancpain Endurance Series together.

***The race will feature three classes (GT3 Pro-Am, GT3 Gentlemen and Porsche Cup), with Renault RS01 running in GT3 and the singleton Wolf, which is being driven by Philippe Prette, Amro M Al-Hamad, Sam Taheri and Angelo Negro.

***Friday’s race will not mark the final professional outing for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 as a number of the gull-winged beasts, including two entries from Erebus Motorsport, are expected for February’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Black Falcon will debut two of the new Mercedes-AMG GT3s in next month’s 24 Hours of Dubai.

***While the Maserati Trofeo World Series, which serves as the support race in Abu Dhabi, comes to an end this weekend, the GranTurismo MCs will be seen in action in the GT4 European Championship and Pirelli World Challenge next year. More than 20 cars from 10 different teams have already been confirmed.

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

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