On Thursday, a field of 91 cars in eight different classes fired up their engines under glorious sunshine in pursuit of the fastest qualifying lap. The 24-hour race in the United Arab Emirates celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
The slicks supplied by Hankook impressed on the sand-strewn surface at the Dubai Autodrome. In track temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, they displayed excellent performance and consistency, not to mention outstanding safety levels.
The Swiss Fach Auto Tech 2 team will start the race at 2.00 p.m. local time on Friday from the front of the grid. Austrian driver Martin Ragginger (Porsche 997 GT3 R) set a fastest lap of 1:57.562 min., earning himself and German team-mates Sven Müller, Jens Richter and Otto Klohs a fantastic starting position for the Hankook 24H Dubai.
Three tenths of a second back was Dutchman Yelmer Buurman (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3), who took second place on the grid for the German Black Falcon 2 team. Behind them in third was the quartet from Swiss outfit Stadler Motorsport, German driver Christian Engelhart (Porsche 997 GT3 R) having recorded a qualifying lap of 1:58.096 min.
The top ten teams all broke the two-minute barrier in qualifying, with under two seconds separating first from tenth. The slick tires from Hankook maintained high grip levels throughout, ensuring exciting and evenly matched qualifying for the 24-hour event in Dubai.
