Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours: A Thrilling Start to the Endurance Race Weekend
Yas Marina Circuit buzzes with excitement as top teams gear up in opening test sessions
The Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi kicked off with Kessel Racing's #11 Ferrari leading the pack in the first official practice session. Scott Andrews, driving for Kessel, posted the best time of 1m52.302s, slightly behind the test benchmark set by Joel Sturm but ahead of the Herberth’s #7 Porsche, driven by Alfred Renauer.
The event featured a robust grid with top sportscar manufacturers Audi, BMW, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Porsche. Despite the strong showing from the Pro-Am and Am categories in the practice session, GruppeM’s #77 Mercedes-AMG emerged as the top overall contender.
The three test sessions on Friday saw teams fine-tuning their strategies and cars for the challenging 5.281km Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Circuit. The event also boasts star drivers like MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, participating in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3.
The #21 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Car Collection Motorsport recorded the fastest lap on Friday, followed by another Porsche from Herberth Motorsport and the McLaren 720 GT3 EVO of Garage 59.
With four qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday and the main race on Sunday, the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours promises to be a thrilling display of endurance racing. The excitement is set to continue with Free Practice 2, further building up to a highly competitive race weekend.
