24H Dubai 2023 - Day 2 (Qualifying)
- Ben Morrison
- Jan 13, 2023
- 3 min read
A full day of qualifying has concluded ahead of the race start tomorrow afternoon, and there was no shortage of excitement today.
Qualifying was a little different this year for the 24H Dubai, as it was split into 4 sessions for each class (as opposed to 2 previously). With the first 2 sessions in the afternoon, and the final 2 in the evening. This change was sure to bring both a mix up in the grid, as track conditions are different between the two sessions, and allows a bit more time for the team to get used to driving in the dark. Each session should have different drivers, so 4 different drivers in total (with the exception of one team who only have 3 drivers), with the pro-drivers being limited in the day qualifying.
With how the Dubai Autodrome is built, only 1/4 of the track is floodlit, meaning for most of the track in the night drivers have to rely on their headlights to see. This not only ups the danger but massively increases the thrill for both the drivers and viewers.
As usual with each pair of sessions, the less experienced drivers must take part in the first half (unless a team is made up of only pro-drivers). This is because there is no changing tyres or refuelling between each half, so it reduces the optimal run for each team keeping the grid and laptimes closer together. However, the evening session differs as each team can start with a fresh set of tyres but there are no limitations on which driver can start the session, so in theory the pro-drivers can start on the fresh tyres and optimise their run.
With recent upgrades to the circuit and weather conditions recently, many drivers were reporting a significant lack of grip. Lap times were noticably slower than expected as a result, with grip slowly building up as the tyres left their mark and the track became less green.
Day Qualifying
GT4 Class:
Car number 488 of Dragon Racing had an incident earlier on in the day so was unable to take part in the first qualifying session of the day. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet and tidy session for the GT4 class with Simpson Motorsport topping the times.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Simpson Motorsport | 438 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:10.508 |
2 | Century Motorsport | 429 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:11.976 |
3 | RHC Jorgensen-Strom | 450 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:13.380 |
4 | Dragon Racing | 408 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | 2:13.529 |
5 | Dragon Racing | 488 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | DNS |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | RHC Jorgensen-Strom | 450 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:09.152 |
2 | Dragon Racing | 408 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | 2:09.154 |
3 | Century Motorsport | 429 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:11.004 |
4 | Simpson Motorsport | 438 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:11.154 |
5 | Dragon Racing | 488 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | DNS |
TCR Class:
A relatively quiet first half, but the second session was red flagged early on after the 117 car from Wolf-Power Racing stopped on track with a suspected drivetrain issue. AC Motorsport's 188 car was also brought back to the pits on the back of a truck and wasn't able to set a lap time, while their 199 car wasn't able to start the session.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Wolf-Power Racing | 117 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:11.310 |
2 | Wolf-Power Racing | 121 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:11.578 |
3 | 700 Miles | 106 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR DSG | 2:16.229 |
4 | AC Motorsport | 188 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | |
5 | AC Motorsport | 199 | Audi RS3 LMS DSG | DNS |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Wolf-Power Racing | 121 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:13.788 |
2 | 700 Miles | 106 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR DSG | 2:18.645 |
3 | Wolf-Power Racing | 117 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | |
4 | AC Motorsport | 188 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | DNS |
5 | AC Motorsport | 199 | Audi RS3 LMS DSG | DNS |
TCX:
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Team Sorg Rennsport | 227 | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 | 2:13.948 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Team Sorg Rennsport | 227 | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 | 2:18.425 |
GT3 Class:
The top 5 results are listed below, for the full qualifying results see here.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Pure Rxcing | 911 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 2:00.610 |
2 | Al Manar Racing by HRT | 777 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 2:00.628 |
3 | Team GP Elite | 32 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 2:00.663 |
4 | Team WRT | 7 | BMW M4 GT3 | 2:01.048 |
5 | Visiom | 2 | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 2:01.058 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Phoenix Racing | 1 | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 1:59.654 |
2 | Tresor Attempto Racing | 99 | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 1:59.999 |
3 | Haas RT | 21 | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 2:00.109 |
4 | Pure Rxcing | 911 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 2:00.154 |
5 | Herberth Motorsport | 92 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 2:00.256 |
GTX Class:
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Razoon More Than Racing | 714 | KTM X-BOX GTX | 2:06.821 |
2 | Vortex V8 | 701 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:07.705 |
3 | Vortex V8 | 702 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:11.182 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Razoon More Than Racing | 714 | KTM X-BOW GTX | 2:09.608 |
2 | Vortex V8 | 702 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:13.120 |
3 | Vortex V8 | 701 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:13.517 |
992 Class:
The top 5 results are listed below, for the full qualifying results see here.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | ALM Motorsport | 988 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:04.176 |
2 | Red Camel Jordans | 909 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:04.187 |
3 | QMMF by HRT | 929 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:04.227 |
4 | NKPP by HRT | 928 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.279 |
5 | Speed Lover | 979 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.482 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | SebLajoux Racing | 907 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:03.020 |
2 | Willi Motorsport | 955 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:04.312 |
3 | Red Camel Jordans | 909 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:04.730 |
4 | SebLajoux Racing | 908 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.187 |
5 | ALM Motorsport | 988 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.657 |
NIGHT QUALIFYING
GT4 Class:
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | RHC Jorgensen-Strom | 450 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:09.182 |
2 | Dragon Racing | 408 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | 2:09.456 |
3 | Simpson Motorsport | 438 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:10.671 |
4 | Century Motorsport | 429 | BMW-M4 GT4 | 2:10.965 |
5 | Dragon Racing | 488 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | DNS |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Dragon Racing | 408 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | 2:09.506 |
2 | RHC Jorgensen-Strom | 450 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:10.053 |
3 | Simpson Motorsport | 438 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:10.658 |
4 | Century Motorsport | 429 | BMW M4 GT4 | 2:10.993 |
5 | Dragon Racing | 488 | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | DNS |
TCR Class:
The second half of the session was brought to an early end after the 199 car of AC Motorsport hit the wall coming out of Turn 12 bringing out a red flag with just 2 minutes on the clock.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | AC Motorsport | 188 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:10.105 |
2 | Wolf-Power Racing | 117 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:10.551 |
3 | Wolf-Power Racing | 121 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:11.053 |
4 | 700 Miles | 106 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR DSG | 2:15.866 |
5 | AC Motorsport | 199 | Audi RS3 LMS DSG | 2:18.115 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | AC Motorsport | 188 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:10.408 |
2 | Wolf-Power Racing | 121 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:11.350 |
3 | 700 Miles | 106 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR DSG | 2:15.350 |
4 | Wolf-Power Racing | 117 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2:16.449 |
5 | AC Motorsport | 199 | Audi RS3 LMS DSG | 2:18.808 |
TCX:
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Team Sorg Rennsport | 227 | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 | 2:11.872 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Team Sorg Rennsport | 227 | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 | 2:11.338 |
GT3 Class:
The top 5 results are listed below, for the full qualifying results see here. The 21 car of Haas RT suffered an engine issue during the night practice which meant they weren't able to take part in night qualifying. It looks like a long night ahead for the crew to get the car up and running before the race tomorrow.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Al Manar Racing by HRT | 777 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 1:58.335 |
2 | Abu Dhabi Racing by HRT | 4 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 1:58.455 |
3 | Heart of Racing by SPS | 27 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 1:58.546 |
4 | Tresor Attempto Racing | 99 | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 1:59.197 |
5 | Herberth Motorsport | 91 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1:59.300 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Heart of Racing by SPS | 27 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 1:59.313 |
2 | Al Manar Racing by HRT | 777 | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 1:59.340 |
3 | Grove Racing | 10 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1:59.544 |
4 | 7TSIX | 76 | McLaren 720S GT3 | 1:59.593 |
5 | Team WRT | 7 | BMW M4 GT3 | 1:59.896 |
GTX Class:
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Razoon More Than Racing | 714 | KTM X-BOX GTX | 2:03.488 |
2 | Vortex V8 | 701 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:07.232 |
3 | Vortex V8 | 702 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:08.210 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Vortex V8 | 701 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:06.804 |
2 | Razoon More Than Racing | 714 | KTM X-BOW GTX | 2:06.945 |
3 | Vortex V8 | 702 | Vortex 1.0 | 2:10.067 |
992 Class:
The top 5 results are listed below, for the full qualifying results see here.
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | SebLajoux Raxing | 908 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:02.023 |
2 | Fach Auto Tech | 962 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:02.075 |
3 | Fach Auto Tech | 961 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:02.386 |
4 | Speed Lover | 979 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:02.697 |
5 | Red Camel Jordans | 909 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:02.798 |
Pos | Team | No. | Car | Fastest |
1 | Fach Auto Tech | 961 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:03.628 |
2 | Duel Racing by Toro Verde | 995 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:03.666 |
3 | Fach Auto Tech | 962 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:03.950 |
4 | Speed Lover | 979 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.871 |
5 | NKPP by HRT | 928 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 2:05.914 |
Comments