Yas Marina Friday Notebook

Photo: Gulf 12H

***The No. 66 Team Tressor Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Kelvin van der Linde, Mattia Drudi and Dennis Marschall led the way in Friday’s testing sessions at Yas Marina Circuit in preparation for the Gulf 12 Hours. A 1:52.097 lap time from the Attempto-run Audi was 0.079 seconds quicker than the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 in second, with the sister Ferrari slotting in third quickest overall.

***Nearly all of the quickest lap times came in the fourth open test practice of the day, which featured two red flags during the night session, including one for the GT3 Pro-Am class No. 33 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Murat Cuhadaroglu, who suffered an impact that briefly saw the car catch fire. The second red was for the Team Baron Motorsport Middle East Ferrari.

***There were three additional stoppages over the course of Friday’s sessions, including separate accidents for the No. 98 GruppeM Racing and No. 1 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos. The No. 88 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 of Marvin Kirchhofer, meanwhile, stopped on track in the first session to also bring out a red.

***GruppeM mechanics spent Friday evening hard at work removing damaged bodywork from its No. 98 Mercedes after Lucas Auer’s accident. The Austrian driver, who was unhurt, told Sportscar365 that the barrier contact at Turn 2 was a “heavy one” and that there were no signs of car malfunction or external influence.

***Neither of the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMGs took part in the night session. The No. 1 car required significant bodywork repairs after the accident for Hunter Abbott earlier in the day. Its No. 51 Mercedes-AMG underwent an engine change before the night run. Team manager Jay Davenport told Sportscar365 that the underside of the engine was damaged by contact with a curb, resulting in an oil leak.

***All 34 cars entered in this year’s Gulf 12 Hours formed for a group photo on Thursday evening (pictured above). The around-the-clock is running to 12 consecutive hours for the first time after previously being split up between two six-hour segments with an intermission.

***New BMW factory driver Dan Harper is making his first GT3 appearance or the manufacturer outside of the BMW Junior Team. At all 15 of his previous GT3 outings, Harper has paired with Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen.

***Raffaele Marciello’s focus is on adding another major race win rather than sealing the IGTC title, which the Swiss driver would also achieve by taking victory on Sunday. “At Bathurst or Spa, you look at the race, and if the championship comes it’s a nice extra,” Marciello told Sportscar365. “I’m more here to try and win the race, and whatever happens, happens.”

***Klaus Bachler will be a late arrival to Yas Marina, with the Austrian having taken part in this week’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway in Pfaff Motorsports’ new Porsche 911 GT3 R. Bachler, who is not expected to be on-site until Saturday, is listed to drive the GT3 Pro-Am class No. 44 Herberth Motorsport Porsche alongside Daniel Allemann and Alfred Renauer this weekend.

***Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado have also received dispensation to miss Friday’s track action, with the AF Corse duo being honored at tonight’s FIA Gala in Bologna for winning the FIA World Endurance GT drivers’ championship. All three drivers must complete a night-time track walk on Saturday.

***Both Stephane Kox and Giorgio Roda have been derogated to Bronze* for this weekend, with no additional penalties or restrictions.

***1998 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Stephane Ortelli is at Yas Marina supporting the Louis Prette and Philippe Prette-driven Ferrari. Ortelli coaches the Prettes, who are teaming up with Americans Jean-Claude Saada and Conrad Grunewald this weekend.

***Ortelli told Sportscar365 that he is planning to get behind the wheel of next year’s new and updated GT3 cars at SRO Motorsports Group’s pre-season Balance of Performance test. The Frenchman also competes in the Ultimate Cup Series.

***Audi Sport customer racing has brought a full GT3 parts truck to the circuit, which will stay in the Middle East through the Hankook 24H Dubai in January. The European transporter was sea-freighted from Geneva to Dubai on Oct. 20 following the conclusion of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season.

****While this weekend’s race closes out the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season, SRO Motorsports Group’s involvement comes in partnership with longstanding Gulf 12 Hours promoter Driving Force Events, which has remained the organizer of the event. SRO has been charged with all technical aspects, including scrutineering and the utilization of its Balance of Performance system.

***Event director Andrea Ficarelli told Sportscar365: “We are in a situation that’s very similar to the one at Bathurst where the race exists and there’s a promoter. SRO is coming in as a co-promoter by adding the Intercontinental GT Challenge. For us, it’s been really great support, particularly on the technical side. I’m really happy how things are progressing.”

***Ficarelli said the date for next year’s Gulf 12 Hours has been set for Dec. 10, 2023, which will again be an IGTC round.

***Preparations are in full swing for the inaugural Bahrain ProAm 1000 on Jan. 28, which will also be organized by Driving Force Events. Ficarelli said he’s hopeful of seeing a number of teams here this weekend, as well as additional entries from Europe, complete the grid.

***The four-hour Dubai endurance race, originally earmarked for next weekend, has been canceled. Ficarelli explained a number of factors went into the decision, including the no-go of the planned TCR Middle East series, which was originally scheduled to kick off this weekend as a support race. “We didn’t want to take a risk to do a so-so event after we have done such a great event here,” he said.

***As a result, Driving Force Event’s proposed Middle East series, linking the Gulf 12 Hours, Bahrain ProAm 1000 and the yet-to-be-named Dubai race, has been postponed until next season.

***Team WRT is undecided on the prospect of contesting the full IGTC season next year. The BMW squad was announced for “selected races” including the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, but team principal Vincent Vosse, who is not on-site at Yas Marina Circuit, expressed a hope for his team to contest more. “It’s not something which has been completely decided yet. Of course we will be in Bathurst with the two cars. For the rest we are hoping to do more races in IGTC of course.”

***Vosse also confirmed that the pair of BMW M4 GT3s will be air-freighted to Australia ahead of the race in February. “Of course everything is coming very quickly and for us it’s a big challenge. We are facing a new challenge with a great car but something completely new for us,” he added.

Daniel Lloyd and Davey Euwema contributed to this report

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