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During its most recent meeting in Paris earlier this month, the FIA World Motorsport Council approved the regulations of the 2018 24H GT SERIES and the calendars of the various series for the upcoming season.

Thus, the 24H GT SERIES, the 24H TCE SERIES and the 24H PROTO SERIES, will again have ‘FIA International Series’ status in 2018.

Meanwhile, containers with race cars and equipment for the Hankook 3x3H DUBAI (5-7 January, 2018) and the 24H DUBAI (10-13 January, 2018) are being shipped to the United Arab Emirates.

Anticipation is rising for the opener of the 2018 season at Dubai Autodrome.

“Early this month, containers were shipped from various ports all over the world,” says Daphne Gengler, CREVENTIC’s logistics manager.

“Some teams decided to have their cars and equipment shipped from the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas, after our race there last month. A total of 18 containers were sent directly from there to Dubai.

Two containers were shipped from the ports of Nagoya and Yokohama in Japan while the rest, 52 containers in total, were shipped from various ports in Europe.

The majority from Rotterdam, but we also have transports from the ports of Árhus in Denmark, Gøteborg in Sweden, London Gateway in the UK, Genoa in Italy and the French ports of Le Havre and Fos-sur-Mer.

The containers will be arriving at the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates and will be trucked to Dubai Autodrome. As usual, CREVENTIC is taking care of all the logistics and custom facilities, in co-operation with our logistics partner Eimskip.”
 
While most of the cars and equipment are transported to Dubai via sea freight, some teams have opted for air transport. Among them are the teams with the latest GT4 machines from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-AMG, the first cars of which were only recently delivered to the customer teams.

Following a co-operation between CREVENTIC as the promoter of the 24H GT SERIES and the SRO Motorsports Group, a separate GT4 class will be in place in the series next year.

No less than 13 GT4 cars have been entered for the Hankook 24H DUBAI. Another popular category is the TCR class with 16 entries. A full preview for the Hankook 3x3H DUBAI prototype race and the 24H DUBAI for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials will follow in the first days of January.

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The Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#911, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer / Alfred Renauer) currently leads the inaugural 24H COTA USA. The German team is one lap ahead of its closest rival, the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#3, Ben Keating / Jeroen Bleekemolen / Abdulaziz Al Faisal / Luca Stolz) having spent most of the opening 14 hours on the same lap.

Further back, the ROFGO Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#31, Roald Goethe / Stuart Hall / Jamie Campbell-Walter / Nicolas Minassian) finished 3rd on the road, but will forfeit its position in-class with an overnight gearbox change. The Manthey Racing Porsche 991 GT3 R (#13, Steve Smith / Randy Walls / Hari Proczyk / Dennis Olsen) will step up to round out both the overall and A6-Pro top three.

The Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS (#34, Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff / Gustav Edelhoff / Elmar Grimm / Ingo Vogler / Max Edelhoff) tops the A6-Am standings having pulled a 10-lap advantage over the V8 Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1 (#18, Luc Braams / Duncan Huisman / Alex van t'Hoff / Rick Abresch / Nicolas Vandierendonck).

The Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo (#10, Harald Schlotter / Aleksander Schjerpen / John-Louis Jasper / Vic Rice / Niels Lagrange) is currently 3rd in-class.

In a shock moment, the reigning 24H SERIES champions have retired from the race, heavy collision damage for the Hofor-Racing powered by Car Collection Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#1, Michael Kroll / Chantal Kroll / Kenneth Heyer / Christiaan Frankenhout / Jörg Viebahn) eliminating the team from the race.

The PROsport Performance Porsche 991 Cup (#85, Charles Putman / Charles Espenlaub / Joe Foster) has taken a decisive lead in both the 991 Class and the Championship of the Continents at the Circuit of the Americas.

Also competing on home turf, the Freem USA Porsche 991-II Cup (#50, Danny Stutterd / Sam Fillmore / Stephen Grove) lies 2nd in-class ahead of the Slidesports Pallex Porsche 991 Cup (#47, Dave Fairbrother / Nigel Armstrong / Graeme Mundy / Colin Paton).

The MARC Cars Australia MARC Mazda V8 (#210, Jake Camilleri / Keith Kassulke / Morgan Haber / Hadrian Morrall) leads the way in SP2. Five laps further back is the sister entry (#214, Malcolm Niall / Clint Harvey / Brett Niall / Robert Thomson), while the VDS Racing Adventures MARC Focus V8 (#58, Raphaël van der Straten / Thierry de Latre du Bosqueau /Joël Vanloocke / Tom van Rompuy / José Close) completes an all-MARC top three in-class.

The Brookspeed International Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 MR (#41, Freddie Hunt / David Pattison / Alan Metni / Joseph Toussaint) currently leads the SP3 standings, despite a heavy collision in qualifying. After suffering a broken wishbone, the Aston Martin Lagonda Vantage GT8 (#232, Andy Palmer / Peter Cate / Paul Hollywood / John Hindhaugh) is 2nd in-class while the JR Motorsport BMW E90 (#118, Ward Sluys / Pieter van Soelen / Ted van Vliet / Marco Poland) lies 12 laps behind after recovering from mechanical woes.

CUP1 is led by the Classic BMW M235i Racing Cup (#158, Mike Vess / Jason Hart / Matt Travis / John Capesstro-Dubets / Max Fedler).

Mechanical woes for the QSR Racingschool BMW M235i Racing Cup (#161, Rodrigue Gillion / Emilie Liljeström / Mckay Snow / Tommy Graberg / John Mauro) leave the Belgian team just ahead of the Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing Cup (#151, Alexander W. Wetzlich / Simon Tibbett / Benito Tagle / Ray Mason / Quinten Nelson).

The Team Altran Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#308, Guillaume Roman / Gonzalo Martin de Andres / Thierry Blaise / Marc Guillot) leads the TCR class.

The reigning Touring Car champions heads the sister Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#908, Stéphane Ventaja / Thierry Boyer / Michel Derue / François Riaux) and the NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing SEAT Leon TCR (#125, Gijs Bessem / Harry Hilders / Rob Rappange / Willem Meijer).

Having started from category pole position, the Team Eva Solo / Jönsson Consulting Peugeot RCZ (#171, Jan Engelbrecht / Thomas Sørensen / Henrik Sørensen / Claus Bertelsen / Søren Jønsson) now leads the A2 standings.

The newly crowned A2 class champions have pulled a gap to the THRW Honda Racing Honda Civic Si (#183, Douglas Chan / Jeremy Lucas / Scott Nicol / Ryan Eversley) and the sister #184 entry (Calvin Tam / Michael Tsay / Lawrence Hwang / Derek Ferretti), both of which are competing on home soil.

Overnight, cars will be kept under parc fermé conditions. Tomorrow, the race will be resumed from 08.00 till 18.00 hrs

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The Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#911, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer / Alfred Renauer) has taken a comfortable win at the first-ever 24H COTA USA.

Alfred Renauer drove the Porsche across the line after 609 laps of the 5.49km Circuit of the Americas having pulled a gap of two laps to the 2nd placed Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#3, Ben Keating / Jeroen Bleekemolen / Abdulaziz Al Faisal / Luca Stolz).

The Manthey Racing Porsche 991 GT3 R (#13, Steve Smith / Randy Walls / Hari Proczyk / Dennis Olsen) made it two Porsches in the top three and secured an all-German top three in A6-Pro.

The result also confirmed Daniel Allemann, Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer and Herberth Motorsport as the inaugural Champions of the Continents, despite its nearest rivals – the PROsport Performance Porsche 991 Cup (#85, Charles Putman / Charles Espenlaub / Joe Foster) – taking victory in the 991 class. The Freem USA Porsche 991 Cup (#50, Danny Stutterd / Sam Fillmore / Stephen Grove) took the runners-up spot in-class on home soil, while the Slidesports Pallex Porsche 991 Cup (#47, Dave Fairbrother / Nigel Armstrong / Graeme Mundy / Colin Paton) completed the 991 class podium.

The Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS (#34, Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff / Gustav Edelhoff / Elmar Grimm / Ingo Vogler / Max Edelhoff) took its first A6-Am victory of the season, 14 laps ahead of the V8 Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1 (#18, Luc Braams / Duncan Huisman / Alex van t'Hoff / Rick Abresch / Nicolas Vandierendonck) that finished 2nd in-class, despite suffering suspension failure.

The Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo (#10, Harald Schlotter / Aleksander Schjerpen / John-Louis Jasper / Vic Rice / Niels Lagrange) took the final step of the A6-Am podium, becoming Champions of the Continents for SPX in the process. Max Edelhoff could also celebrate becoming the first Rookie Champion of the Continents.

Car Collection Motorsport’s category win was particularly apt, given the fate of its sister cars. The #33 Audi R8 LMS (Pierre Ehret / Stefan Aust / Christian Bollrath / Peter Schmidt / Dimitri Parhofer) retired after its engine ignited on-track, while the Hofor-Racing powered by Car Collection Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#1, Michael Kroll / Chantal Kroll / Kenneth Heyer / Christiaan Frankenhout / Jörg Viebahn) ended its race against the turn two barriers. Despite this, Chantal Kroll would still secure the Ladies Championship of the Continents.

The MARC Cars Australia MARC Mazda V8 (#214, Malcolm Niall / Clint Harvey / Brett Niall / Robert Thomson) led home a MARC 1-2-3 in SP2, crossing the chequered flag just two laps ahead of the sister #210 entry (Jake Camilleri / Keith Kassulke / Morgan Haber / Hadrian Morrall) and the VDS Racing Adventures MARC Focus V8 (#58, Raphaël van der Straten / Thierry de Latre du Bosqueau / Joël Vanloocke / Tom van Rompuy / José Close).

After a difficult start, the Brookspeed International Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 MR (#41, David Pattison / Freddie Hunt / Alan Metni / Joseph Toussaint) took a comfortable win in the SP3 class, Freddie Hunt – son of 1976 Formula 1 World Champion James – emerging victorious on his 24H SERIES debut.

The Aston Martin Lagonda Vantage GT8 (#232, Andy Palmer / Peter Cate / Paul Hollywood / John Hindhaugh) completed a successful series debut in 2nd, while the JR Motorsport BMW E90 (#118, Ward Sluys / Pieter van Soelen / Ted van Vliet / Marco Poland) finished off a strong charge in the top three.

The reigning 24H SERIES Touring Car Champions Team Altran Peugeot took its third TCR victory of the season with the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#308, Guillaume Roman / Gonzalo Martin de Andres / Thierry Blaise / Marc Guillot). The result also crowned Guillaume Roman as the first Champion of the Continents for Touring Cars.

Team Altran Peugeot secured a 1-2 in-class with the sister #908 entry (Stéphane Ventaja / Thierry Boyer / Michel Derue / François Riaux) and was followed home by NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing SEAT Leon TCR (#125, Gijs Bessem / Harry Hilders / Rob Rappange / Willem Meijer) in 3rd place.

Aptly in an all-BMW CUP1 category, the US-based Classic BMW M235i Racing Cup (#158, Mike Vess / Jason Hart / Matt Travis / John Capesstro-Dubets / Max Fedler) took its first class win in the 24H SERIES.

Just three laps further back, the Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing Cup (#151, Alexander W. Wetzlich / Simon Tibbett / Benito Tagle / Ray Mason / Quinten Nelson) took 2nd place, while QSR Racingschool BMW M235i Racing Cup (#161, Rodrigue Gillion / Emilie Liljeström / Mckay Snow / Tommy Graberg / John Mauro) completed the CUP1 podium.

The Team Eva Solo / Jönhanksson Consulting Peugeot RCZ (#171, Jan Engelbrecht / Thomas Sørensen / Henrik Sørensen / Claus Bertelsen / Søren Jønsson) brought a successful season to a close with class victory in A2, its third of the year. The reigning A2 class champions finished almost 60 laps ahead of the THRW Honda Racing Honda Civic Si (#183, Douglas Chan / Jeremy Lucas / Scott Nicol / Ryan Eversley), which had a troubled run to the flag. The sister Civic (#184, Calvin Tam / Michael Tsay / Lawrence Hwang / Derek Ferretti) secured a double podium for the local team on its series debut.

On 5-6-7 January, the 24H PROTOTYPE ENDURANCE SERIES kicks off CREVENTIC’s 2018 race program with the 2018 3X3H DUBAI, just one week before the 13th annual 24H DUBAI on 11-12-13 January 2018.

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The Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#3, Ben Keating / Jeroen Bleekemolen / Abdulaziz Al Faisal / Luca Stolz) has claimed pole position for the first ever 24H COTA USA.

Jeroen Bleekemolen lapped the 5.49km circuit in 2m 06.461s, ending the session just 0.05s faster than the Manthey Racing Porsche 991 GT3 R (#13, Steve Smith / Randy Walls / Hari Proczyk / Dennis Olsen).

 Having spent much of qualifying being repaired in the garage, the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#911, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer / Alfred Renauer) denied Mercedes-AMG a clean sweep by setting the third fastest A6-Pro time for the 2017 24H SERIES season closer.

The Hofor-Racing powered by Car Collection Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#1, Michael Kroll / Chantal Kroll / Kenneth Heyer / Christiaan Frankenhout / Jörg Viebahn) will start A6-Am from category pole position, the reigning 24H SERIES GT Champions setting the 6th fastest lap outright.

The Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo (#10, Harald Schlotter / Aleksander Schjerpen / John-Louis Jasper / Vic Rice / Niels Lagrange) meanwhile set the second fastest lap in-class, just ahead of the V8 Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1 (#18, Luc Braams / Duncan Huisman / Alex van t'Hoff / Rick Abresch / Nicolas Vandierendonck).

Unsurprisingly, as contenders for the inaugural Championship of the Continents, the PROsport Performance Porsche 991 Cup (#85, Charles Putman / Charles Espenlaub / Joe Foster) took 991 pole position, qualifying more than 1.5 second faster than the APO Sport Porsche 991 Cup (#80, Alex Osborne / James May / Paul May). The track-club Team Chronext Porsche 991 Cup (#111, Adam Balon / Marcus Jewell / Liam Griffin / Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke) was third quickest.

The MARC Cars Australia MARC Mazda V8 (#210, Jake Camilleri /Keith Kassulke / Morgan Haber / Hadrian Morrall) led the way in SP2, qualifying just under a second faster than the Mercedes-AMG Testteam Winward Racing/HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT R SP-X (#84, Russell Ward / Damien Faulkner / Indy Dontje / Maximilian Götz) and the second MARC Cars Australia MARC Mazda V8 (#214, Malcolm Niall / Clint Harvey / Brett Niall / Robert Thomson).

The Speedworks Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4  (#225, John Gilbert / Christian Dick / William Phillips / Tom Ingram) topped the SP3 class ahead of the JR Motorsport BMW E90 (#118, Ward Sluys / Pieter van Soelen / Ted van Vliet / Marco Poland). The Aston Martin Lagonda Aston Martin Vantage GT8 (#232, Andy Palmer / Peter Cate / Paul Hollywood / John Hindhaugh) set a credible third fastest time in-class on the car’s series debut.

The Red Camel-Jordans.nl SEAT Leon TCR (#303, Ivo Breukers / Rik Breukers / Aram Martroussian) will lead the TCR field away tomorrow, just ahead of the all-Dutch NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing SEAT Leon TCR (#125, Gijs Bessem / Harry Hilders / Rob Rappange / Willem Meijer).

Reigning 24H SERIES TCR and Touring Car champions Team Altran Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#308, Guillaume Roman / Gonzalo Martin de Andres / Thierry Blaise / Marc Guillot) completes the category top three.

The CUP1 top spot went to the Classic BMW M235i Racing Cup (#158, Mike Vess / Jason Hart / Matt Travis / John Capesstro-Dubets / Max Fedler) at its home race. Next up is the Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing Cup (#151, Alexander W. Wetzlich / Simon Tibbett / Benito Tagle / Ray Mason / Quinten Nelson), while the QSR Racingschool BMW M235i Racing Cup (#161, Rodrigue Gillion / Emilie Liljeström / Mckay Snow / Tommy Graberg / John Mauro) will start third in-class.

Further back, the reigning 24H SERIES A2 champions Team Eva Solo / Jönsson Consulting Peugeot RCZ (#171, Jan Engelbrecht / Thomas Sørensen / Henrik Sørensen / Claus Bertelsen / Søren Jønsson) ahead of the dual THRW Honda Racing entries on the team’s series debut. On home turf, the #183 Honda Civic Si (Douglas Chan / Jeremy Lucas / Scott Nicol / Ryan Eversley) beat the #184 (Calvin Tam / Michael Tsay / Lawrence Hwang / Derek Ferretti) for the second fastest time in-class.

The session got off to a dramatic start with two red flags. The first was flown when the suspension of the QSR Racingschool BMW M235i Racing Cup (#154, Jimmy de Breucker / Tom Boonen / Patrick Zeeuws / Luc Moortgat / Jan Heylen) collapsed.

Shortly after that, Brookspeed International Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 MR (#41, David Pattison / Freddie Hunt / Joseph Toussaint / Alan Menti) made heavy impact with the barriers, stopping the session for a second time.

The first 14 hours of the race are held from 09.00 till 23.00 hrs on Saturday. Overnight, cars will be kept under parc fermé conditions. On Sunday, the race will be resumed from 08.00 till 18.00 hrs.

 

         

 

 

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