With a field of 20 GT3s (+ 4 Porsche Cups) at the start of the 2024 Gulf 12H, we could expect a quickly played race but quite the opposite took place over 353 laps (6 laps from the record ).
The second part of the race, very calm on the track, saw a great fight between the Audi / Saintéloc Racing and the McLaren / Optimum Motorsport. Ultimately it was the British GT which had the last word. Aaron Telitz and Frederik Schandorff did the job in the finale with Todd Coleman as third driver.
Just a year ago, Optimum Motorsport took 6th place and won in Pro-Am. This time, it is the general who rewards Shaun Goff’s team managed by Bas Leinders. McLaren had already won an edition but the one contested in Bahrain during the pandemic. Optimum Motorsport was able to seize its chance when it needed to and Schandorff was decisive at the end of the race.
Saintéloc Racing may have tried everything, but Dennis Marschall, Gilles Magnus and Zhou Bihuang, who put in a remarkable performance, missed nothing. The Saint-Etienne team, which ranked third in 2022, gained a place and failed to reach victory, 4.1 seconds away.
Porsche, for its part, is doing as well as in 2012 with Autorlando, namely the last step of the podium thanks to Proton Huber Competition, Sven Müller, Sergey Stolyarov and Sergei Borisov. The top three is entirely GT3 Pro.
Herberth Motorsport is one of the great satisfactions of the 2024 edition. Entered in GT3 Am, the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ralf Bohn, Dustin Blattner and Alfred Renauer leaves Yas Marina with pole, a 5th place overall accompanied by a GT3 Am class victory. A new flawless performance from the German team of the Renauer brothers. The Audi / Haas RT takes second place in class with Casper Stevenson, Xavier Knauf, Gregory Servais and John Corbett.
The GT3 Pro Am class saw the victory of the McLaren 720S GT3 EVO / Garage 59 of Adam Smalley, Alexander West, Philippe and Louis Prette, just off the overall podium. Saintéloc Racing took a very good second place thanks to Jim Pla, Michael Blanchemain, Paul Evrard and Benjamin Ricci. The two Audi / Saintéloc leave with the silver medal.
Ferrari however had the advantage in numbers with seven 296 GT3s on the grid. At no time was the Italian brand able to achieve a 9th success at Yas Marina. The Ferrari 296 GT3s remained very discreet during the entire race. The only satisfaction will remain third place in GT3 Pro Am for AF Corse. Eliseo Donno, one of the revelations of the year, showed great things, with Alessandro Cozzi, Marco Pulcini and Giorgio Sernagiotto at his side. Despite the presence of Giacomo Altoè and Roberto Merhi, racing one suffered and Kessel Racing will have to wait for a 5th success. There are four Ferrari 296 GT3s from 7th to 10th place.
Hardly any more luck in the Mercedes-AMG camp with only one car to play in front. 2 Seas Motorsport could count on the indisputable speed of Jules Gounon, but the Lamborghini / ARC Bratislava hit the AMG GT3 of Stephen Grove (damaged suspension and more than 15 laps lost).
As for the GT Cup class, HRT Performance offers itself a fairly easy double with the victory of Ghanim Salah Al Madheed, Abdullah Al Khelaifi, Ibrahim Abdulghani and Julian Hanses in the Porsche in the colors of Qatar.
There are four retirements from this 2024 edition. In addition to the Lamborghini / ARC Bratislava and the Ferrari / Dragon Racing #77 which had abandoned the first part of the race, the McLaren / Garage 59 of Ramos, Goethe, Jakes and Sansom experienced a loss of power before returning permanently. The Porsche Cup / Enrico Fulgenzi Racing has also given up the ghost.
