Dragon Ferrari Tops Abu Dhabi FP1

Dragon Racing set the pace in the opening Free Practice session for the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours, which kicked off a busy day of on-track action for the 14th running of the event.

The No. 77 Ferrari 296 GT3, piloted by Kuwaiti racer Khaled Almarzouq, topped the session with a best time of 1:52.431, outpacing Dennis Marschall’s No. 25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II by 0.256 seconds.

Almarzouq’s No. 77 car topped the GT3 Pro-Am class, while Marschall led the Pro category, which is intended for car crews featuring either one Bronze alongside any combination of Platinum, Gold or Silver drivers, or three Silver drivers.

A Pro-Am crew must feature at least two Bronze-rated drivers, while Am-category entrants are prohibited from having any Gold or Platinum drivers as part of the lineup.

Jules Gounon went third-quickest in the No. 4 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, setting the pace initially with a 1:52.803 before dropping back somewhat.

Dragon’s second Ferrari, piloted by Wayne Boyd, slotted into fourth while Benjamin Goethe completed the top five behind the wheel of the No. 59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

Davide Rigon, who is chasing a sixth Gulf 12H win, picked up sixth for Kessel Racing, ahead of Herberth Motorsport and the No. 69 Optimum Motorsport McLaren piloted by Frederik Schandorff.

The overall top ten was rounded out by Racing One’s Giacomo Altoe and the No. 16 Proton Huber Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The two-hour session was completed without any red flag interruptions.

Track action at the Yas Marina Circuit continues with Free Practice 2 at 1 p.m. GST (4 a.m. EDT), with a third practice session and qualifying all to be completed on Saturday.

RESULTS: Free Practice 1