Yas Marina Weekend Notebook

***The 14th edition of the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours marks a return to the traditional, Pro-Am-focused format after the previous two editions of the event were held as a round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

***The 24-car grid for this weekend’s event features representation from six manufacturers: Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. That is the same number of entries that took the start for last year’s IGTC race, with the loss of BMW offset by the return of Lamborghini.

***Driving Force Events CEO Andrea Ficarelli told Sportscar365 that the choice was made to re-introduce the 992 Cup class in order to compensate for the lack of IGTC Pro entries now that the event has returned to a standalone format.

***A not insignificant number of teams present for the 2023 edition has returned this year, including the likes of Kessel Racing, AF Corse, Optimum Motorsport, 2 Seas Motorsport, Garage 59, HAAS RT and Racing One.

***The event follows on immediately from the conclusion of the Formula 1 season, which took place at last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, subsequent test days for both F1 as well as Formula 2 have resulted in a compressed timetable for the Gulf 12H teams in what Ficarelli described as the “most difficult” edition in terms of logistics. 

***Meanwhile, Ficarelli explained that tickets holders for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will also be granted free entry to Sunday’s race, saying: “A very large [part of the] audience of Formula 1 is not interested in GT racing. But it would be interesting to see how this is impacting on our race in terms of filling the paddock and making it alive.”

***The Yas Marina Circuit also hosted filming for the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced F1 movie that is set to star Brad Pitt, with scenes in the paddock being filmed as late as Thursday evening. The movie, which is set to be released in June 2025, was also partially shot at the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year.

***Stephen Grove will “most definitely” be looking for a better Gulf 12H outing than last year’s edition, when an ABS problem caused him to crash out of the race in the second hour. “Our objective always is to finish,” Grove told Sportscar365. “Long distance races, you’ve got to finish obviously to get anywhere and then everything else is a bonus. If you can get on the podium it’s a bonus. If you can win, it’s an unbelievable bonus. They’re very hard to win.”

***Grove shares the 2 Seas Motorsport-operated No. 4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with son Brenton and Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon, with the latter flying in from France after testing with the Alpine Hypercar squad at Paul Ricard.

***Gounon told Sportscar365: “I arrived last night at 2 a.m. Straight on time for FP1 at 8:30. It was okay. I was happy this morning, I went into the car and it felt like home again so it’s I’m quite happy to see how I can switch from the Hypercar to the GT and vice versa. I think it’s something my dad always learned me how to adapt very quickly and it’s serving me well.”

***While Kyle Tilley makes his debut in modern Porsche machinery at this weekend’s event, the Indiana-based Brit arrived in the UAE fresh off a successful outing in the HSR Classic 12 Hours of Sebring, where he picked a class victory behind the wheel of a 2008 Porsche 997 Cup car with Era Motorsport.

***A number of teams taking part this weekend were recently in action in the region as part of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup finale in Saudi Arabia. A number of cars, including those from Lionspeed GP, Rinaldi Racing and Herberth Motorsport, arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit still with Fanatec GT Europe branding visible.

***While almost all teams saw their equipment arrive via container, Dragon Racing formed a notable exception. The team has its headquarters roughly an hour away from Yas Marina, located at the Dubai Autodrome, and thus delivered its pair of Ferrari 296 GT3s to Abu Dhabi via the road.

***The only other notable truck present in the paddock is Audi Sport’s UAE-based parts truck, which has become a regular sight at races in the region. The Ingolstadt marque is represented in the event by two teams: Sainteloc and HAAS RT.

***Dennis Marschall, who shares Sainteloc’s No. 25 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II with Zhou Bhihuang and Gilles Magnus, says he feels “a bit more at home” at the wheel of the R8 after a year of hopping between various manufacturers. The German drove a Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, won the Nürburgring 24 in a Scherer Sport PHX-entered Audi and joined Kessel Racing to race a Ferrari in the Asian Le Mans Series opener in Sepang.

***Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz, who raced together in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge this year, both make their debuts at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend. Coleman told Sportscar365 that, in order to prepare for the event, they both spent time practicing in a simulator at a facility adjacent to the Dubai Autodrome before driving down to Abu Dhabi to arrive in time for Friday’s driver briefing.

***The support bill for the event consists of the F4 United Arab Emirates Trophy, which hosts its season finale here. Amongst the participants is Sebastian Wheldon, the eldest son of the late two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

***Also on track were non-competitive Pirelli Supercar sessions, which saw various exotic cars take to the Yas Marina Circuit across Saturday.

***Saturday’s running for the Gulf 12H concludes with a four-stage qualifying session to determine the grid for Sunday’s race, kicking off at 7 p.m. GST (10 a.m. EDT). The first, eight-hour segment of the race then commences on Sunday at 9 a.m. (midnight EDT).

***Qualifying, as well as the two race segments, will be streamed live on YouTube. The broadcast team consists David Addison, Mark Werrell, Alan Hyde and Tim Fullbrook.