Four-Hour Dubai Race Planned for Weekend After Gulf 12H

The promoter of the Gulf 12 Hours has launched a four-hour race at Dubai Autodrome that will be held one week after the established enduro at nearby Yas Marina Circuit.

Driving Force Events will run the currently unnamed Dubai race on Sunday, Dec. 18 as part of a two-day meeting that will also include the resurrected TCR Middle East series.

It will occur straight after the 12th edition of the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, which marks the season finale of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli.

Event director Andrea Ficarelli said that the Dubai field will be a mixture of Gulf 12 Hours entrants and teams that were unable to achieve places on the grid for the Yas Marina race, which has experienced growth in GT3 numbers since it became an IGTC round.

The event will incorporate categories for different vehicle types including GT3, GT4 and single-make cars from platforms such as Porsche Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo.

“We are organizing a four-hour race in Dubai immediately after the Gulf 12 Hours,” Ficarelli told reporters in a video call.

“Our aim is to be able to accept the cars that we have not been able to accept in the Gulf 12 Hours. Obviously, the cars that are racing in the Gulf 12 Hours can come.

“We already have quite a lot of interest for the teams to join, because logistically it makes a lot of sense.

“This is a new thing that we will do this year for the first time, and we hope to carry on in the future.”

According to Ficarelli, the grid for the four-hour Dubai race is expected to feature around 20 to 24 cars.

He explained that the car count is primarily influenced by the number of tires that can be guaranteed for the event amid global supply issues.

Driving Force will run the event independently, rather than collaborating with SRO Motorsports Group which organizes the IGTC and is therefore working on the Gulf 12 Hours.

“GT3 cars will be allowed, but we really hope there is an opportunity to restart our conversations with teams that have GT4 cars or different kinds of Cup cars,” Ficarelli said.

“I believe, still, that the largest block of cars will be GT3. By bringing so many cars to Yas Marina circuit, we can expect several to translate into this four-hour race.”

The planned four-hour race from Driving Force Events will become the third enduro of the same length to take place at the 3.35-mile circuit.

The Asian Le Mans Series held two four-hour races at Dubai Autodrome during its 2021 and 2022 seasons and will return to the venue in February for another double-header.

More races are being staged in the Middle East to cater to a growing market of European sports car teams that want to run in good weather during the winter off-season.

Creventic recently launched a 12-hour race at Kuwait Motor Town that will be held on Dec. 2, one week before the Gulf 12 Hours. The 24H Series organizer will also hold the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai and 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina in January.

“It is absolutely true that there is an over-supply of events, at the moment,” Ficarelli said.

“Last year we did our own homework and analyzed how many GT teams have moved to the Middle East region, specifically the UAE, to do at least one event.

“Some were already based in the UAE for other reasons, but nearly 60 teams have moved from Europe to the Middle East.

“There is a winter market. Before, the teams were going to do one or two races. Now they are going for the season.”

Proposal to Link Three Races into Series

The Dubai event is the second new endurance race created by Driving Force Events, joining the Bahrain ProAm 1000 which is due to be held for the first time in January.

Ficarelli indicated that his organization is looking to connect those two races and the Gulf 12 Hours under a points system to form a three-round mini championship.

The new series could come into effect as early as this winter.

“We are talking about it now, already,” Ficarelli said.

“But it’s just an idea at the moment. We have already started moving formally into this area. We need to see if we can finalize it.”