Abu Dhabi: In a thrilling finale to the 11th edition of the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit, AF Corse won their fourth title in the competition’s history with an impressive one-two finish to capture victory in Abu Dhabi.
The team, led by Antonio Fuoco, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, in their Ferrari 488 GT3 took victory in the first edition to feature a consecutive 12-hour race, finishing ahead of fellow AF Corse drivers Davide Rigon, Alessio Rivera and Nicklas Nielsen. The result adds to Ferrari’s dominance at Yas Marina Circuit following their eighth victory across the Yas Island track in the competition.
Seventh position
Across a thrilling weekend of action that saw the largest ever grid line up on the Yas Island track, AF Corse would leap over the Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM side, who locked out the front row in qualifying only to retire during Sunday’s race. Their retirement allowed for Audi Sport Team Sainteloc’s car led by Christopher Haase, Patric Niederhauser and Erwan to round out the podium in the Pro class.
In his debut GT3 race, Formula 1 star Kevin Magnussen returning to Yas Marina Circuit after this year’s AbuDhabiGP to claim seventh position in the MDK Motorsports Ferrari with father Jan and Mark Kvamme.
Overall finish
In the Pro-Am category, Philip Ellis, Kenny Habul and Martin Konrad, in the SunEnergy1 by SPS Mercedes-AMG GT3, led in a fascinating performance, which saw the team take the victory in class and an overall finish of fifth in the race.
Garage 59 rounded out the podium in the Pro-Am class, with their driver line-ups of Marvin Kirchhofer, Benjamin Goethe and Alexander West in the McLaren 720S GT3 taking second, and Eddie Cheever III, Chris Froggatt, Jonathan Hui and Kevin Tse earning third.
