Welcome back, everybody, for the second day in a row, to the Dubai Autodrome. Get ready for round two of the Asian Le Mans Series, 2022. Teams are fighting not just for championships, but also for a place to race at the greatest endurance sports car race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We will go into darkness far quicker than we did yesterday. DKR Engineering, has been having some troubles from yesterday. The starter motor was not working, and they ran through an electrical gremlin yesterday. They did have issues in morning warmup. The #7 Inception Racing McLaren won in the GT class yesterday. This is the first McLaren to win in Le Mans Series rules since 2015 when a team took a McLaren to victory at Sepang in Malaysia.
We talked about this great 5.39-kilometer circuit, yesterday. 16 corners. Plunge into turn one, flowing corners right and left for the first six or so corners. The lowest point at turn six. Out of turn nine down the backstretch you climb back up. Turns 11 and 12 need traction. Through 13 and into 14, keep to the left and then into a right-hand corner before finishing the lap at the highest point. High tire degradation is a risk you take. The left side tires take a real pasting around this place. It is hard to see on this track at night as well. Finding your turn in points is very difficult. All these cars (at least LMP2 and GT) have good headlights. Only recently, have LMP3 cars been used for endurance races involving night driving.
You rely on all your senses. You have to look for cues and pick up everything as a driver, navigating your way through this speedway at Dubai. Watch out for track limits. This was a major story from yesterday. Race Director Edoardo Freitas said there were track limits incidents every 12 seconds. So, the grid continues to form up and we have fans here which tells us that just maybe, life is coming back to normal after the pandemic this world has been going through. Again, the drivers have all been told what Freitas as the Race Director and the marshals are looking for.
The cars are forming up on the grid. If you enjoyed last night you will enjoy tonight's race, and next weekend, stay with us, because we will be racing a doubleheader at Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Matt Bell did very well yesterday, if you did not see the race yesterday. Grab some breakfast, a cup of coffee and a donut, and piece of fruit or something, and join us for another great race today. In qualifying for race two, Ben Barnicoat was not able to muster anything quicker than third in GT. Jonny Adam and TF Sport Aston Martin were three thousandths of a second ahead of their nearest competitor.
In LMP3, Lorents Horr swept pole positions for DKR Engineering. Neale Muston ran third in LMP2 and ahead of him, David Droux, and Ben Hanley. The qualifying times were unbelievably close for both of these races here in Dubai this weekend. 35 cars will start this motor race. 22 GT cars, 13 prototypes. Seven different manufacturers in the GT field. You have a massive variety of car and engine combinations in GT which is the true spirit of what sports car racing is all about. Ben Barnicoat, Brendon Iribe, and Ollie Milroy in the McLaren had a textbook race yesterday. Car #2 is on the grid with it's paint job reminiscent of a clownfish, of Nemo, the famous clownfish from the Disney movie "Finding Nemo".
We have had a lot of cloud cover today in Dubai and so the temperatures will be dropping when we move to the hours of darkness. How will the tires hold up? Car #95, the TF Sport Aston Martin, and there are a few others prepared by the same team in the field today. John Hartshorne's average times are quicker than they were a year ago. Hartshorne sharing with Jonny Adam and Henrique Chaves, the Portuguese driver. The grid will be cleared, we'll be off on the formation lap, and ready to go racing. Yesterday, we saw a massive battle between Joe Osborne and Vincent Abril. McLaren vs. Ferrari, and that was a great scrap. We had close racing without much contact yesterday.
I wonder if we will see more argy bargy today. Or not. The engines have started. We have a rolling start behind the safety car. Rodrigo Sales has control of thse field. It's red lights out, and away we go! Slippery conditions through turn one. ARC Bratislava and Miro Konopka move to second. Graff Racing next up. There's a bit of contact in the middle of the field. Tommy Vialainen, the Finn, has moved back, and Francesco Piovanetti in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari has dropped like a stone. The pole sitting DKR LMP3 entry has also begun to lose places.
Rodrigo Sales leads Miro Konoka and here comes Eric Trouillet. Great move 'round the outside of Miro Konopka. Kevin Weeda fourth for High Class Racing. Tony Wells is the LMP3 leader it appears. Jordan Grogor in the Konrad Motorsports Ginetta in LMP3 is moving up. We have some of the top finishers in LMP3 from yesterday, down the order. Tommi Vialainen from Finland is having to dig his way out of a small hole. Eric Trouillet is now in hot pursuit of Rodrigo Sales who leads by 2.4 seconds. Kevin Weeda remains in third. Fabrice Rousselot leads Tony Wells and Matthieu de Barbuat in LMP3.
Hubert Haupt has taken the GT lead aboard the #6 HRT Mercedes AMG GT3. Haupt is the driver and team owner. Conrad Grunewald in the Ferrari is right on his six. Yifei Ye, starting the #33 Herberth Motorsports Porsche, he is moving up already. Ye is last year's overall LMP2 champion in the Asian Le Mans Series. Everyone is beginning to get settled down. Good scrap here, look, for third place between Sam De Haan and Brendon Iribe along with Yifei Ye. Front, middle, and rear engine GT cars scrapping for position at Dubai Autodrome. Hubert Haupt has American Ferrari Challenge racer Conrad Grunewald, right on his six.
The Ferrari has been in the zone all weekend and so has the Mercedes to be honest. Iribe and Ye pass Sam De Haan. The genie is out of the bottle. In LMP3, it is Ligier, Duqueine, and Ginetta, all with Nissan V8 power. Oh dear. Spin there for one of the LMP3 machines. Torsten Kratz has spun after trying a lunge to the inside, getting too much weight on the front wheels and he spins out. He was being monstered by the Ginetta in the hands of Jordan Grogor. Back to the lead in GT is the Hubert Haupt Mercedes. You have missed nothing at the top of the shop.
Conrad Grunewald has closed in and is monstering Hubert Haupt right now. Haupt defends. Is that two moves? That's a no no, Hubert. Move once and stay on your line, mate. We do have a message from Race Control. No action for contact on the #22 car. I am not the referee in this game. Meanwhile, back to the racing. James Vowles in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren. Vowles is the strategist for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in Formula 1 before the 2022 F1 campaign begins in earnest. Yifei Ye has to pour on the steam to get in touch with both Haupt and Grunewald at the sharp end of GT. Alexander Bukhantshov ahead of Michael Jensen in LMP3. InterEuropol, the Polish bakers, they are in the lead of LMP3.
Already, the leaders are getting into lapped traffic. We have the YC Panda Audi R8 GT3 and one of the BMW M4 GT3's as well, being lapped already. James Vowles could have had contact with one of the Rinaldi Racing entries. So, Rodrigo Sales is really getting into a rhythm. He spun yesterday, but now is running well. On occasion he might be wriggling around, but once the tire temperatures come up, he'll be fine. The stewards have put Francesco Piovanetti and James Vowles under investigation. The AF Corse team boss has been called to Race Control for a meeting. Jordan Grogor in LMP3 has passed Tony Wells.
Konrad Motorsport will take this car to Europe for Michelin Le Mans Cup later this spring. DKR Engineering had trouble with both their fuel pumps yesterday and it was game over. The G-Drive LMP3 entry maybe has had a bit of a clatter or something. Fabrice Rousselot could have spun out and has now continued. Rodrigo Sales is really pressing on hard. He has learned a bunch from yesterday's race having probably debriefed with Matty Bell and Ben Hanley after their race win yesterday. No damage for the #26. G-Drive is a Russian petrol station. We will see another G-Drive liveried entry from Eurointernational in the 2022 European Le Mans Series.
When Konrad Motorsports had their troubles yesterday, we did not know why. Meanwhile, Yifei Ye is pressing on in GT in the Porsche. Sascha Maassen is his driver coach, a Porsche GT racing legend and someone who can assist with the junior factory and affiliated drivers. Yifei Ye will be racing in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series with Cool Racing. We have seen the new Porsche LMDh/GTP car. Other brands are releasing their cars for the new top category coming next year. Cannot wait to see that!
Haupt, Ye, Iribe, the top three in GT. Hubert Haupt still being warned for track limits. There will be penalties sent out for track limits. Race Director Edoardo Freitas means business. Francesco Piovanetti has indeed been pinged for contact with James Vowles as we discussed earlier. Yifei Ye may be pushing a tad too hard in his pursuit of Hubert Haupt. So, Sascha Maassen will be on the horn to him saying, "take it easy, sunbeam." Yifei Ye is taking extra bits of road while Brendon Iribe is not going to extremes with his driving. He is looking after the tires, playing the long game, keeping the tires together for the full stint.
Peter Kox is running well today with his daughter Stephane and Nico Pronk, who is based in the UAE and is a buddy of Peter Kox who is a driving instructor as well. Nico Pronk's wife is a member of the Racing Gazelles, an all-female supercar club in Dubai. Double H, Hubert Haupt, along with Florian Scholze, have both been given final warnings for track limits. Scholze at the controls of the #96 entry, the Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo. So, we can see Mathieu De Barbuat almost ten seconds ahead of Jordan Grogor. This is the #2, the "Nemo" car with it's orange and white stripes. Tommy Vialainen is in the fight with Jordan Grogor.
Francesco Piovanetti has served his drive through penalty. The GT3 cars have antilock brakes. The prototypes do not. So, the braking behaviors are so different. Tommy Vialainen is having to pour on the steam to get by Francesco Piovanetti. Florian Scholze has been pinged for a drive through penalty. Edoardo Freitas is consistent and serious in his role as Race Director. He does not sugarcoat it. If you disobey track limits, you will be penalized. Ralf Juettner, from the Audi team, is now team manager at Konrad Motorsports. He has won the most 24 Hours of Le Mans races as a team manager and engineer in all those years with Audi and the legend, Reinhold Joest.
Alexander West, too, has been pinged for track limits. West aboard the second Garage 59 McLaren. West sharing with Frank Bird and Marvin Kirchhofer. The GT cars are going to be much heavier as a production car compared to an LMP2 entry which is a pure racing car. GT, Grand Touring, are cars you can buy, if you are lucky enough, stepping into your local exotic car dealer. A Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, McLaren... whatever your preference. The Ligier, worldwide, is the only non-Oreca built LMP2 race car. Yifei Ye now second in GT pressing his way past Hubert Haupt. Conrad Grunewald is still the leader in class.
De Barbuat, Grogor, Rossello, Wells, Kranz, Bukhantsov, Jensen. The top six in LMP3. Audi #96 reported again for track limits. Poor old Florian Scholze not having the race he wants so far with nearly 40 minutes on the board. Jordan Grogor is giving the Konrad Motorsports Ginetta a good run today, second in LMP3 I believe. HRT will be serving their drive through penalty. These rapid-fire races in Asian Le Mans Series, drivers and teams know they need to rise to the occasion right from the when the wheels hit the track. As the tire degradation kicks in, we see the GT class cars beginning to wriggle and squirm around on the road. High Class Racing are running in Asian Le Mans, IMSA, in the WeatherTech Championship, and in the European Le Mans Series.
Chandler Hull has put a lap on one of the other GT class cars. Jos Verstappen was due to drive here at Dubai Autodrome in the 24 Hours of Dubai last month. But that did not work out. Another stop/go penalty for the #96 entry. It is serving said penalty now. Yifei Ye can move ahead and catch the leader in the GT class, the #17 Ferrari of Conrad Grunewald is going to be catching Francesco Piovanetti and putting a lap on him. Yifei Ye will be delivering the Porsche to his co-driver's as a clean car. You cannot win an endurance race in the first hour, from the endurance racing book of wisdom. Another statement from the book, from the sacred, holy book of the spirit of endurance racing, is, morning warmup, bites.
Nielsen Racing in the pit lane for their first stop from the lead. Matty Bell is not set to get in the car yet so it appears Rodrigo Sales will do a double stint. Matt Bell the brother of Rob Bell, another accomplished sports car driver. Graff Racing, Eric Trouillet, is moving up. Headlights on, as we are going to see darkness falling soon. Pit stop time for High Class Racing and the trio of Dennis Andersen, Anders Fjordbach, and Kevin Weeda. They've gotten confused with changing tires at High Class. This is going to lose them time. That is an LMP2 Am entered car. They have to make three timed pit stops I believe.
Sam De Haan, fifth in GT in the Oman Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, car #69. He is 6.8 seconds in-arrears of Italian Rino Mastronardi. Mastronardi will move up in driver classification from Bronze to Silver I believe. So, a battle of the McLaren's. Nick Moss is pressing Alexander West. Nick Moss really wants to move pst Alexander West. Eric Trouillet for Graff Racing, third overall and in LMP2 is making his way through the GT traffic. Trouillet has to move past as he is under pressure from Jordan Grogor in the Ginetta right now. That is an LMP3 car. That is the Konrad Motorsport Ginetta. LMP3 and GT3 cars have timed pit stops.
We have a few autom0biles that have broken light panels for the numbers. Frnacesco Piovanetti is lapped by the #55 Rinaldi Racing entry. One entry apiece for LMP2, LMP3, and GT3, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Iribe is pressing Mastronardi. Rino Mastronardi, people whinged about him being too fast to be a Bronze rated driver. Conrad Grunewald leads GT and Yifei Ye has seven or so seconds to catch up to the Ferrari. Brendon Iribe has received his last warning for track limits before he may receive a drive through penalty.
The sun is setting rapidly and the cars have their headlamps on. The light fades very quickly here in Dubai. Garage 59 has more damage. Yesterday they had crunched the right side and this time there is a crunched left corner. Poor old Hubert Haupt is in a spot of bother again, and we have seen a local yellow. Douglas Khoo and YC Panda, have really been struggling. Poor old Hubert Haupt is also battling back. John Hartshorne in the Aston Martin #95 was on the GT pole but they've had a difficult time through the first hour of the race. Stay out of trouble. That is the goal at TF Sport. YC Panda are not doing themselves any favors as poor old Douglas Khoo will be picking up clag on his tires.
Driver change at D'station Aston Martin #77. Satoshi Hoshino has finished his stint and will hand the car to Tomonobu Fujii. Jurgen Haring in the #99 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R is in the lane and so is the #57 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Kessel Racing. Axcil Jeffries sharing with Francesco Zollo and Roman Ziemian. Those three drivers, a Zimbabwean, an Italian, and a Pole. Henrique Chaves takes over at TF Sport and at Herberth it is Marco Seefried. Giorgio Roda is now racing at Dinamic Motorsports in Porsche 911 GT3R #12.
AF Corse are in the lane and doing a full service. There has been a driver change. Victor Gomez is the other Bronze rated driver in that car. They have issues either with the window net or the drink bottle. Ah. We are headed for Full Course Yellow which could be for debris from that fracas with the #6 and #96 cars. One hour now in the bag. There's debris on the road at turn ten to driver's right. That debris could be from one or both cars we saw in trouble, #6 and #96, the Haupt Mercedes and the Attempto Audi. Rodrigo Sales pits and will do a driver change over to Matt Bell to make sure the drive time gets synchronized properly so that Matt Bell and Ben Hanley get their drive time in as well.
Nielsen Racing is not having a regular pit stop. Something going on inside the automobile. Is there trouble with the driver's seat? They took the right-hand side seat. They have the wrong seat insert for the wrong driver in the car. So, this could put #4 a wee bit behind the eight ball. It took them over three minutes, and they've lost a minute and a half under Full Course Yellow. They've lost buckets of time. Sebastian Alvarez has been in the lane and now leads the motor race for DKR Engineering. When was the last time an LMP3 car led one of these races? Nigel Moore led at Sepang in Asian Le Mans Series. Sebastien Page and Graff Racing now lead LMP2. We are going back to green flag racing and it is now fully dark in Dubai and extremely dark.
It is pitch black everywhere. Green flag. Ollie Milroy in GT is going to do his best to catch one of the BMW's. Once again, Sebastien Page has no rear lights and no lit number panel. There are rear lights. They will have to get the torches out again just like yesterday. Once again, just like yesterday, a torch is a flashlight. Matt Bell has now gone by Sebastian Alvarez. Louis Prette has now taken over the wheel of the #17 AF Corse Ferrari. Giorgio Roda now at the controls of the #12 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche. Marco Seefried in the #99 Herberth Motorsports Porsche has made a pass. By the look of things this could be 3AM, but I believe it is only 5PM in Dubai right now. OK. Maybe 7PM.
Rodrigo Sales says that the team decided to pit under Full Course Yellow and take a short stint. So, just like yesterday, Nielsen Racing is in the lead again and Matt Bell uncorks the fastest first sector of the race so far. Maybe the foam seat insert was wedged on a roll bar or something. Two Ferrari's scrapping in GT. AF Corse with Louis Prette and Rinaldi Racing with David Perel. Trouble again for Konrad Motorsports and the Ginetta. From Luxembourg, Gabriele Rindoni, is in a spot of bother. Matt Bell was putting the welly down yesterday and is doing likewise today. We have Full Course Yellow on the speedway.
#55 has passed #17 under yellow and has to give the position back. Trouble for the light panel for the #2 DKR Engineering car, with what? A torch, a flashlight. Game over for the Konrad Motorsports Ginetta. They are out of the race. Haupt Racing Team in the pit lane and they too, have a torch attached to the car. Haupt Racing Team have had a litany of troubles tonight. #4 back in pit lane and they are replacing the door on that car! This is the winning car from yesterday. Is the head restraint part of the seat broken? That is another possibility. The strategists' computers and caluclators will be smoking, trying to get a leg up on the competition. So, Nielsen Racing and Matt Bell are back on track.
Ferrari #51 is back in to top off with fuel. The top three LMP2 cars are very close together. Nielsen Racing now lead in LMP3 as DKR Engineering are behind the eight ball. AF Corse Ferrari #17 has also pitted, and now, we are still under Full Course Yellow for probable fluid on the track surface. No worries. Now we are back to green. Still number panel issues for some of the cars. Sebastien Page leads the motor race ahead of Matt Bell who will be breathing down his neck shortly. Dennis Andersen is in third place. So, Nielsen Racing is back to the lead of the motor race after their troubles. Matt Bell will be doing his level best to stay in front.
Nikita Aleksandrov in the #72 Koiranen Kempi Motorsports LMP3 car is an obstacle for Matt Bell to get by. in the GT class, Ahmad Al Harthy appears to be the new leader, an hour and a half into the motor race. Another half hour and we'll be halfway home. The #13 Intereuropol Competition Ligier will have a ten second penalty added to their next pit stop for a pit infraction. Ollie Milroy has not been able to get on terms with Andrew Watson and Alfred Renauer is in-between in the Herberth Motorsport Porsche. They went to Le Mans last year after winning this championship. They hope to be back this year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Louis Prette is running well in the GT class in the AF Corse Ferrari.
AF Corse have passed the Oman Racing Aston Martin of Ahmad al Harthy. 1998 Le Mans winner Stephane Ortelli, is Louis Prette's driver coach. Ortelli is the Balance of Performance driver for SRO for their GT2 and GT3 cars. SRO will be assisting with the Asian Le Mans Series for next year. Sebastian Alvarez has the lead over Tony Wells in LMP3 right now. Nielsen Racing having a far better motor race today than they did yesterday with an axle problem. Drive through penalty for Alfred Renauer and the #91 Herberth Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. That was the contact with the #6 car. So, it was Herberth Motorsports who made contact earlier with the #6 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes,
It was not the #96 Audi for Attempto Racing. Matt Bell's lead over Sebastien Page has ballooned to 27 seconds. Sebastian Alvarez, too, is pulling clear of Tony Wells. Louis Prette is sitting pretty at the moment as he scraps with the third placed LMP3 entry with Torsten Kratz at the controls. Conrad Grunewald says he had a good stint so far and the team at AF Corse has made some changes to the Ferrari that ought to work out. Kudos to Conrad Grunewald, who has run a few GT3 races stateside as well. Louis Prette is pushing, pushing, pushing. These chaps at AF Corse in GT are indeed in the pound seats right now.
We are watching Andrew Watson in the #42 Optimum Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3, fourth in GT3. LMP3 and GT3 cars are scrapping. Nick Adcock pressing Turkish driver Antares Au. Nick Adcock is monstering Au right now aboard the #3 CD Sport LMP3 car. Watson is being chased by Ollie Milroy in another McLaren. Wow. Milroy checks up, gets caught out by Sebastian Alvarez in the #2 LMP3 entry and he was going after the #12 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche in the hands of Giorgio Roda I believe, sharing with Ben Barker and Phillipp Sager. Vincent Abril is still set to get into the AF Corse/APM Monaco Ferrari. For GT cars, each car delivers performance differently. It is very frustrating to get tangled up with the prototypes.
It messes with a driver's rhythm. The LMP3 car will be stealing a bit of downforce off the tail of the GT3 car. Yes, this is multi class racing, but it is not easy for you as a GT driver to dispose of an LMP3 car. Sebastian Alvarez has uncorked a 1:55.411, his fastest lap of the race, four seconds quicker than Dennis Andersen in the LMP2 car ahead. Wow. DKR Engineering, the Luxembourg team, want to make amends for a not so good race yesterday. Frank Bird in the Aston Martin is scrapping with Antares Au in the Herberth Porsche #33, the Turkish driver.
Frank Bird has indeed passed Antares Au and taken the position for 19th overall, eighth in GT, going after an LMP3 car and then Jon Miller aboard the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. Car #39 and #22 battling. That is the Rinaldi Racing car chasing the Graff Racing car. David Droux says that Eric Trouillet has done very well and so has Sebastien Page. Coming into Yas Marina last year, the form book was tossed in the air. Teams who ran well here in Dubai did not run well at Yas Marina, and the Yas Marina circuit has been updated and upgraded. It is going to be a very cool pair of races. Looking forward to bringing those to you, next weekend.
Matt Bell uncorks fastest lap of the race so far. 1:49.414. Last night, Nielsen Racing's fastest lap was at 1:48.7. ARC Bratislava #44 is recovering in LMP3, Neale Muston at the wheel of it. But Sebastian Alvarez runs ahead. Team managers for cars #51 and #26 are scheduled for meetings. We'll see how those turn out. David Perel, meantime, is reeling in Ahmad al Harthy. Neale Muston, though, the Australian, is flying right now. How will pit stops shake out? The teams will be back timing this race to the end now that we are going to be to the halfway mark in five minutes.
Alexander Bukhantsov brings the #13 Inter Europol LMP3 car to the pit lane for service. David Perel, in the meantime, he is chasing down Ahmad Al Harthy. Al Harthy is looking in his mirrors and knows he can't overdrive the car. Perel is applying the blowtorch and Al Harthy is feeling the heat. Can Al Harthy defend? The Omani driver vs. the South African. Yellow flag at turn 14. Maybe a local yellow. The Kox Racing, Saalocin by Kox Racing #48 Porsche 911 GT3R has spun. Nico Pronk went in deep on the brakes and rotated at turn 14 on the inside of the corner. He had the front axle loaded and it spun out. He has drive but may have to go in reverse.
Can he crank over the motor? Nico Pronk said he does not have much night driving experience. Hopefully he hasn't been caught out. Trouble is, Pronk has no drive in that Porsche. Maybe he is radioing the team to ask about how the car works and what to do to restart it. Tony Wells, meanwhile, remains second in LMP3. The #13 car has Guilherme Oliviera at the wheel, the Portuguese driver. Ahmad Al Harthy has passed David Perel back and as we are at the halfway mark we are now under Full Course Yellow. Rinaldi Racing is in the pit lane. This is the third Full Course Yellow and there will be driver changes on these pit stops.
We are into the second half f the motor race now. Tony Wells in the lane now and Colin Noble will take over that car for Nielsen Racing. Ferrari #51 pits, and Victor Gomez will take his penalty. Ten seconds added to the pit stop time. 1/3rd of the field in the lane for service or who have just exited the lane. Optimum Motorsports ready for a stop after their McLaren colleagues at Inception Racing have made their stop and Ben Barnicoat is now into the car after Ollie Milroy completes his stint. GT pit stops under Full Course Yellow. Matt Bell leads the motor race.
We just saw Haupt Racing and the Mercedes in the lane and the second Inception Racing McLaren, car #42. #26 and #39 have pitted, both of these cars run by Graff Racing. Once again, the torches come out for the #39 car to keep the number plates lit to satisfy the marshals. LMP2 cars are now in the top four. Sebastian Alvarez has pitted and handed the car to his co-driver. We have now gone back to green flag racing. Vincent Abril leads Charlie Eastwood, Davide Rigon, Joe Osborne, and Ben Barnicoat in GT. These are the top factory GT3 drivers in the world. Abril did an iron man stint last night. That battle between he and Joe Osborne was spectacular.
Watch this space. The GT scrap is going to get spicy. Dennis Andersen is just one second in-arrears of Sebastien Page. I believe Page has just started another stint. Neither of them are professional drivers. But they are competitive and experienced. Andersen does well in daylight racing. But what about at night? Daytona for the Rolex 24, Andersen raced there. But there's greater light at Daytona than there is here in Dubai. Again, it is pitch dark all over the place. Gentleman drivers, some are experienced in the darkness with driving and others are not. Gentleman drivers principly carry the finances for their teams. We wouldn't be able to do this without privateers.
The Oreca 07's and so forth are the fastest cars privateers can drive and they have bettered the lap times compared to a decade ago of the factory diesel Audi's we used to see racing and winning at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Charlie Eastwood has the blowtorch applied by Davide Rigon. In LMP3, meantime, DKR Engineering leads the charge. Sebastian Alvarez says that the car had electrical troubles yesterday that made them lose time. The car began to cough and sputter due to the electrical issues yesterday. But today, tonight, they are running well. Sebastian Alvarez did a double stint and so will Matthieu de Barbuat and Laurents Horr is currently at the wheel. Colin Noble wants to put on the pressure but is having a hard time.
Porsche #48 has rejoined the race. Dennis Andersen has passed Neale Muston and Sebastien Page as well. So, he is now chasing down Matt Bell. Lorents Horr and Colin Noble will be scrapping hard. We always called Allan McNish "the Scottish Terrier". Well, maybe Colin Noble will now acquire that nickname. Matthieu De Barbuat is another rapid bloke behind the wheel. Davide Rigon and Charlie Eastwood are now closing in on Vincent Abril in the GT class battle. Davide Rigon is right with Charlie Eastwood. Davide Rigon is indeed pressing Charlie Eastwood. These two chaps are attacking and defending each other and cutting into the lead of Vincent Abril. There is a lapped car between the two, but the gap between Abril and Eastwood is now 24 seconds.
Dennis Andersen is now four seconds up the road from Sebastien Page. Anders Fjordbach will finish out the race in the High Class LMP2 car. Fjordbach has won in class in Dubai on four occasions, primarily driving GT Porsche's. The story to tell here is still the Charlie Eastwood and Davide Rigon story. Colin Noble is catching Mathieu de Barbuat. CD Sport have moved up to fourth and fifth in class in LMP3. Nielsen, High Class, ARC Bratislava, and Graff Racing. Wow. Neale Muston has caught and passed Sebastien Page. Charlie Eastwood has to focus as Davide Rigon's headlights are burning into his rearview mirrors.
There was a wee off-track moment for the #39. Page has junk on his tires, and he has been passed by both Neale Muston and Mathieu de Barbuat. Rigon is being reeled in by Eastwood. Eastwood successfully makes the move. It is done and dusted. An hour and a half left on the board, brake discs glowing in the darkness. So, Nielsen Racing are a lap up. Neale Muston, meanwhile, has caught Dennis Andersen. John Corbett still has to drive the #44 ARC Bratislava car. We also still have to see the #49 car with Anders Fjordbach driving. Clear track will be critical.
Vincent Abril has been aware of Charlie Eastwood still pressing hard and wants to keep the lead. Meantime, Dennis Andersen is still ahead of Neale Muston. But Muston is coming in a hurry. What would it be like if Miro Konopka got a podium? He'd be over the moon. Muston, continuing to catch Andersen. The Australian vs. the Dane. Muston flies' fast jets and does aerobatics and races cars. So, he is a speed seeker. The Ligier is coming into its own in the cooler, darker evening here in Dubai. Dennis Andersen has been balked and he is defending against Neale Muston. Muston has him for second spot! Jeepers creepers! That was wild.
Muston seems to be happier in traffic than Andersen. Muston has run with ARC Bratislava in LMP3 cars in Asian Le Mans Series competition in the past. Andersen to the pit lane. Anders Fjordbach will take over the car. Clean the windscreen, add fuel, change the tires. That was a decent stop. Not awful but not perfect either. So, Matt Bell resumes in the lead. Nicky Catsburg, meanwhile, is down the order but hanging in there in the Walkenhorst Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. Mathieu de Barbuat continues to lead in LMP3 as Colin Noble is doing all he can to cut the gap down. Laurents Horr though, will be the driver to take the DKR entry to the checkered flag.
The starter motor issue with this car at DKR is when it gets very hot. Same deal for the Ginetta LMP3 car. Nielsen Racing will be pitting for a driver change shortly. Matt Bell will hand the car to the top gun, and they will put Ben Hanley in the seat. The car is in the lane and Ben Hanley does get in. Hanley will be flying. Just over an hour to go. No worries about the driver change for the Nielsen Racing team this time. Slight trouble on the left rear but it isn't bad. Xavier Lloveras has brought the #26 G-Drive car to the lane. Trouble for Graff Racing #39 as the car did not fire up immediately. David Droux now at the wheel of it.
Mathieu de Barbuat in the DKR Duqueine leads LMP3. 1:50 flat for Anders Fjordbach in the High Class Racing car. He could bang off purple sectors but not put together the whole lap. It seems the High Class entry was a wee bit skittish. In GT, we are going to see a battle royal between Vincent Abril and Charlie Eastwood. Not sure if Davide Rigon or Joe Osborne will be able to get into the picture. Fjordbach though, has now gone purple, fastest of all. Fjordbach has to make up 30 seconds to catch the leading LMP3 car of Mathieu de Barbuat. Neale Muston continues to run second. Third in LMP3 is Leonard Weiss in the Duqueine #22 for Wochenspiegel Team Monschau. The YC Panda Racing Audi of Bashar Mardini is in the lane for a tire change sharing with Edgar Lau and Douglas Khoo. Mardini is back on track.
Mardini, from Dubai, but is based in Canada. Side by side stuff for Charlie Eastwood as he is passed by Steve Palette in the #27 CD Sport Ligier LMP3. Palette, the Frenchman, sharing with countrymen Christophe Cresp and Antoine Doquin. Davide Rigon is chasing down Vincent Abril but has LMP3 cars ahead. ARC Bratislava now in the lane for fuel and there will be a driver change. Will that be Miro Konopka replacing Neale Muston? This is an unscheduled pit stop for the boys at ARC Bratislava. The #66 Audi is going to the garage. Something amiss at YC Panda. A slow, slow pit stop for the #44 team.
That will put them behind the eight ball indeed. A bigtime scrap for Garage 59 and the McLaren of Nicolai Kjaergaard, ahead of the Haupt Racing Team Mercedes of Arjun Maini, and Ben Barker is next. Jonny Adam in the TF Sport Aston Martin is actually ahead in this queue. #95, #59, #6, #12. Aston, McLaren, Mercedes, Porsche. John Corbett now has the #44 ARC Bratislava car back on track, but they are sixth overall and fourth in LMP2. Anders Fjordbach runs second. Matthieu de Barbuat leads Colin Noble by 42 seconds.
Vincent Abril leading GT is being warned for track limits again. Simmer down, Vincent. Simmer down. #66 ought to go to the lane for a suspected engine issue. Make sure the engine does not go bang on the road on a dark circuit here at Dubai Autodrome. You cannot see the fluid in the darkness. You can smell it, but you cannot see it. Hitting that grease on the road is like hitting ice with conventional tires. High performance slick racing tires lose traction very quickly. You cannot stop or turn and you skid straight into a wall.
The GT class is beginning to come together. Joe Osborne is being caught by Charlie Eastwood. Ben Barnicoat is coming in a hurry. Blimey! The McLaren's are really turning up the wick! Oman Racing Aston Martin is in the lane. Ahmad Al Harthy, Sam De Haan, and Charlie Eastwood. Eastwood might be able to get home from here with just a tad over an hour to go. Ben Barnicoat has pitted six times. That isn't good. Where are they on fuel strategy? Ben Hanley leads this motor race as the #33 Herberth Motorsport Porsche is out of the race. Game over for Antares Au, Yifei Ye, and Klaus Bachler. Oh wow. DKR Engineering have been off track and has lost the LMP3 lead!
Nielsen Racing now lead LMP2 and LMP3 and are in the top three. Mathieu de Barbuat in the lane. Is there damage to the car? They want to do a driver change. No real visible damage on that automobile. Lorents Horr gets into the car. No tires. So, Lorents Horr is back into the race with 58 minutes on the board. This race is simmering now. Saalocin by Kox Racing are in with the #48 Porsche and Stephane Kox hands the car over to her dad, Peter Kox, for the finish. Attempto Racing in and out of the lane as well. Not sure who is driving. Is it Alex Aka, Florian Scholze, or Finlay Hutchinson?
#13 also in the lane, the Inter Europol Competition LMP3 entry. One hour to go. More pit action as well with the two remaining Herberth Motorsports Porsche's, #91 and #99. Alfred Renauer in the #91 and Marco Seefried in #99. Trouble again for DKR Engineering as the CD Sport entries are now seventh and eighth after being 1-2 for a brief time. AF Corse in the lane as well. DKR are dropping like a stone. Inception Racing and the McLaren will have Ben Barnicoat taking it to the flag. Attention in the cockpit for the #51 car which had an overheating starter last night and now they have some other electrical issue.
Last night they had a starter motor overheat and blasted it with a can of CO2 to cool it down. Colin Noble back in the lane as well. LMP3 cars are usually very reliable, but today, they have been in for a rough ride. The #34 Walkenhorst Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 of Nicky Catsburg has been running very well too. Catsburg is third behind Davide Rigon. Nielsen Racing lead, a lap up on Anders Fjordbach in the High Class Racing car. David Droux is next and John Corbett fourth. So, Graff ahead of ARC Bratislava. Nielsen Racing also leads in LMP3 with Colin Noble at the wheel of it. Vincent Abril pits the #17 AF Corse APM Ferrari. Ben Barnicoat might just catch Davide Rigon. Barnicoat has Joe Osborne, his Optimum Motorsports McLaren teammate behind, followed by the Oman Racing Aston Martin #69 of Charlie Eastwood.
Barnicoat has been warned about track limits. We have lost just two cars, the Konrad Motorsports LMP3 car and one of the Herberth Motorsports Porsche's, one of the three that are entered. Davide Rigon vs. Vincent Abril is the scrap in GT. 45 minutes to go. Rigon wants by Abril! This is going to be fiesty. Well defended by Abril, but Rigon is pushing hard. Abril overslows the car but Rigon has hot tires and he is in full attack mode. Barnicoat is back there but is he close enough? Barnicoat was two seconds quicker than these two scrapping away. Rigon is really going to have to try Abril. These two cars are equal, two Ferrari 488 GT3's.
Vincent Abril and Joe Osborne both get their final warnings for track limits. Davide Rigon has the run. Abril is using too much track. Rigon gets chopped. This fighting is playing into the hands of Ben Barnicoat. He is closing in. There is time for this to play out. No dice this time for Vincent Abril. Abril has a run and Rigon is pushing. These two are in clear air but will have traffic to deal with in a couple laps. Don't raise the dander of the Race Director. Rigon has to cool it and let the tires get back into a spot that is manageable and they don't overheat or they will be slipping and sliding all over the shop.
Rigon is still giving Abril the rough end of the pineapple and so is Joe Osborne, doing likewise to Ben Barnicoat. Davide Rigon can take a tighter line than Vincent Abril on corner entry. Ben Barnicoat is 20 seconds down on the Ferrari duel. But they are not really dueling. They are driving liner stern in clean air. They will be using their tools available aboard the Ferrari to equalize the performance of similar automobiles. High Class Racing pits and Anders Fjordbach will finish the race. Davide Droux in second is also expecting a stop in his future. There is also a battle between Steve Palette, Edouard Cauhaupe, and Hendrik Still in LMP3. This is all for the win.
Ben Hanley in the lane from the lead for his final stop of the race. Fuel only for the #4. Another good race for the #4 but not trouble free. They had issues on that one driver change with the seat and the door. Maybe they could not open the door properly and he had to get into the car from the passenger's side. In ACO rules, you do a test to get out of the passenger door of the car in under five seconds if you have an emergency. You have to climb over the safety equipment and the electrical and mechanical boxes and systems on the other side of the car. Three wide down the backstretch! Wow! Colin Noble, in traffic, leading LMP3. #8, #26. Colin Noble is a minute and 23 seconds ahead of the #27 CD Sport car.
Edouard Cauhaupe is being caught by Henrik Still. A GT3 car was off, the second Garage 59 McLaren of Marvin Kirchofer. Nicky Catsburg now runs seventh in GT3 in the BMW M4 GT3. We could see more performance from the BMW M4 GT3 when we get to Abu Dhabi next weekend. A lapped car ahead, as Vincent Abril is ahead of Davide Rigon, still. Ben Barnicoat might just close up on these two. Inception Racing have one Le Mans entry and would love another. Marco Seefried in the #99 Herberth Motorsports Porsche is holding up the lead GT battle.
Barnicoat losing time to Rigon. Abril leads. Barnicoat took four tires and Joe Osborne probably took two. So, Osborne's tires on one side will be more knackered. What can Vincent Abril do with clear racetrack? Axcil Jeffries will go a lap down in the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari. Edouard Cauhaupe has responded to Hendrik Still. It is Hendrik Still, not Henrik. My mistake. A ten second stop and go penalty for insufficient pit time for the leading #8 LMP3 car! Oh my! Trouble for Nielsen Racing. Colin Noble and Anthony ells will lose time. John Corbett will finish out the race for ARC Bratislava as they make their final stop changing out a data stick.
ARC Bratislava have run a good race this evening. Colin Noble is in the lane in #8 for Nielsen Racing and he has come and gone. Where is the #27? They are not out of the second sector yet. Noble might have an advantage. He spent 39 seconds in the lane. Steve Palette is now in the third sector. Vincent Abril has cleared Davide Rigon. Abril has to keep his nose clean for the last 20 minutes. Lorents Horr has not passed the G-Drive Racing entry yet. Colin Noble now leads by 47 seconds. Barnicoat is 12.8 seconds in-arrears of Davide Rigon.
McLaren could be strong at Yas Marina. Will there be BoP adjustments for Porsche's, Audi's or BMW's before Yas Marina next weekend? We'll see. Marvin Kirchhofer is catching Nicky Catsburg. BMW M4 GT3 vs. McLaren 720S GT3. Front engine coupe vs. mid-engine, low slung coupe. The BMW M4 GT3 has not unlocked all it's speed and potential yet. They had issues in both the 24-hour race here in Dubai and also at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. BMW had aerodynamic issues with the flor and diffuser at Daytona, and here at Dubai as well. Nicky Catsburg is a world class driver for sure.
Anders Fjordbach and company might just hold onto second place. David Droux is running third overall. Ben Hanley has the lead of the motor race. Colin Noble leads LMP3. Vincent Abril leads GT. Tom Gamble in the top ten in GT, is given a warning for track limits. There have been too many issues for the LMP3 cars here to have a clean, straightahead battle. Maybe we will see that in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Car #17 reported to the stewards for track limits and Vincent Abril will get a drive through penalty! Let's see what the stewards decide with 12 minutes left. This will open the door for both Rinaldi Racing, and Inception Racing, and Optimum Motorsports as well!
Yup. Drive through penalty for #17. Wow. Ben Barnicoat is catching up to Davide Rigon for second in GT. There was adequate warning for Abril's penalty. The team might be arguing with the marshals. Barnicoat is catching up to Rigon. Car #35 reported to the stewards for abusing track limits. That is the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. That is the all-German trio of Henry Walkenhorst, Jorg Breuer, and Mario van Bohlen. Rigon needs more to keep Barnicoat at bay. Abril into the lane to serve his drive through penalty. He has lost the lead to Davide Rigon and will now be with Joe Osborne I believe.
Ben Barker in the Dinamic Porsche also has to serve a drive through penalty. 7.3 seconds, Ben Barnicoat to Davide Rigon. What does Davide Rigon have left in the locker? Marvin Kirchofer and Nicky Catsburg continue to scrap and Hendrik Still is also in the fight. Colin Noble is 32 seconds to the good over Steve Palette in LMP3. Nielsen Racing could sweep two LMP classes in the same race. United Autosports have done that before, but Nielsen Racing could as well. Joe Osborne is quicker than Vincent Abril. Four minutes to go.
Vincent Abril is now third and has Joe Osborne all over him. These two have been driving in the darkness for two hours. Osborne must be thinking, "ugh. Brilliant. It's that blasted blue Ferrari, again." The clock will go to zero and there will be one lap left. That is critical to a number of things including drive time. Inception and Rinaldi exceeded their drive times in yesterday's race. Two or three laps to go. Ben Hanley has one minute ahead of second place Anders Fjordbach. Vincent Abrils tries are shot. Ben Barnicoat just does not have the pace. A late pit stop for the second place LMP3 car for CD Sport.
Ben Hanley in the lead is on his final lap. Time is expired. It has been another dominating performance by Nielsen Racing, and they are going to win again here in Dubai. Their LMP3 team will win as well with Colin Noble and Tony Wells. Two out of two for Nielsen Racing, who are definitely looking for an auto invite to Le Mans. Two for two for Nielsen Racing! Ben Hanley, Rodrigo Sales, and Matt Bell, win again in Dubai! They had the pit issues but have overcome them. Graff Racing third. High Class Racing in second spot.
GT winner, the #55 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari, and in LMP3, it is Tony Wells and Colin Noble winning. Vincent Abril hung on for third in GT over Joe Osborne. Winners in GT Am, SPS Automotive Performance and their Mercedes AMG GT3, car #20 driven by Mikael Grenier, Ian Loggie, and Valentin Pierburg.
Overall/LMP2: #4 Hanley/Bell/Sales Nielsen Racing Oreca 07
LMP2 Am: #39 Droux/Page/Trouillet Graff Oreca 07
LMP3: #8 Noble/Wells Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT: #55 Mastronardi/Perel/Rigon Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3
GT Am: #20 Grenier/Loggie/Pierburg SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes AMG GT3
Next up, is the two-race season finale for the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series at Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, the newly improved Yas Marina circuit.
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