There was a strong Blancpain GT Series presence at the Dubai Autodrome last weekend as the Middle Eastern venue staged its annual 24-hour race (11-12 January).
The event saw a dominant victory for the Car Collection Motorsport squad’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, which led all but 47 laps of the twice-around-the-clock contest. This represented a maiden win for the German marque’s upgraded GT3 machine, which is set to contest the 2019 Blancpain GT Series.
What’s more, the result in Dubai spoke to the quality of competition found in the Blancpain GT Series. Each of the four winning drivers competed in the championship at some stage during the 2018 campaign, as did the triumphant Car Collection outfit.
Audi Sport factory driver Christopher Haase has been a regular in the series since its formation in 2011 and contested the full 2018 campaign with Sainteloc Racing. A former winner at the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the German continues to add to his impressive list of long-distance successes.
He was joined in Dubai by fellow Audi Sport ace Frederic Vervisch, who also shared an R8 LMS with Haase at last year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa. The line-up was completed by Rik Breukers – who took Silver Cup honours at Spa in 2018 – and Dimitri Parhofer, who drove for Car Collection Motorsport at Monza last term.
Indeed, there was strong Blancpain GT Series representation throughout the event. Pole position went to 2017 overall teams’ champion Grasser Racing, with Italian ace Mirko Bortolotti delivering the lap aboard his Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Come the race, the Car Collection crew’s closest challenger proved to be the MS7 by WRT outfit, which featured the familiar faces of Dries Vanthoor and Christopher Mies.
There will be further opportunity for the stars of the Blancpain GT Series to impress on the global stage when they contest the 24 Hours of Daytona (26-27 January), where Grasser Racing will start as the defending GTD class winner.