GENNEP (02 February, 2024) – CREVENTIC crowned its latest 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy winners at this past weekend’s Hankook 24H DUBAI, with three teams successfully defending their crowns, two making a triumphant jump to the GT3 class, and four more taking regional honours for the first time. 

The 24H SERIES powered by Hankook’s Middle East program incorporated three rounds – December’s Hankook 12H KUWAIT, the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI, and the 19th edition of the Hankook 24H DUBAI – and saw its new champions crowned at a special prize-giving ceremony at the Dubai Autodrome. With entry lists for the 2023/2024 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy higher than that of the inaugural 2022/2023 program, CREVENTIC is confident a strong second running can lead to the three-round campaign increasing in popularity ahead of a planned program in 2024/2025.

Casper de Kort, CREVENTIC sporting coordinator: “We’re very pleased to have been on the ground to celebrate the coronation of our new 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy winners in Dubai. After competing at some of the Middle East’s most celebrated racing circuits during the European off-season, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from teams and drivers. We’re hopeful that we can offer an equally compelling opportunity in 2024/2025, with the 20th annual Hankook 24H DUBAI once again as its focal point.”

Manamauri Energy by Ebimotors (#95) sealed its second consecutive 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy title at the 2024 Hankook 24H DUBAI, taking overall GT3 Teams’ honours ahead of Century Motorsport. 

Consistency proved the key for Ebimotors, which sealed last year’s 992 Teams’ Middle East Trophy title as ‘Willi Motorsport by Ebimotors’. While the Romanian-Italian team did not take a class win, 2nd overall at the Hankook 12H KUWAIT and 3rd outright at the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI proved decisive. After scratch results were taken into account, the #95 Porsche 992 GT3 R finished four points clear of Century Motorsport’s #22 BMW M4 GT3 – 68 points to 64 – and a further four ahead of both Car Collection Motorsport (#96) and CP Racing (#85). 

In the overall GT3 Drivers’ standings, Fabrizio Broggi, Cosimo Papi and reigning 992 Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champions Sabino de Castro and Sergiu Nicolae were victorious over Century’s Carl Cavers, Lewis Plato and Jack Barlow. Car Collection Motorsport’s Dennis Marschall and Dustin Blattner, and CP Racing’s Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub, Joe Foster and Shane Lewis all finished the season with 60 points. 

Ironically, two GT3-Pro/Am class wins for Century Motorsport (Kuwait and Dubai) as opposed to none for Manamauri Energy by Ebimotors means the British team takes the GT3-Pro/Am Teams’ title, albeit by just eight points. Moreover, Car Collection Motorsport’s win in Abu Dhabi, coupled with the fact that Ebimotors competed as ‘GT3’ rather than ‘GT3-Pro/Am’ in Kuwait, means the Romanian-Italian finishes the season level on points with Car Collection – 72 – but is shuffled behind its German rival on countback. 

In the GT3-Pro/Am Drivers’ standings, Plato, Cavers and Barlow take the crown, eight points clear of Car Collection’s Blattner and Marschall, and Ebimotor’s Papi, de Castro, Broggi and Nicolae. 

Following its overall win at December’s Hankook 12 KUWAIT, CP Racing, the 2023 GT3-Am Teams’ ‘Europe’ champion, went into the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI at the head of the overall GT3 teams’ standings. While transmission problems meant the American team could only finish 5th in-class in Dubai, 3rd in GT3-Am one round earlier at the Yas Marina Circuit proved pivotal, and CP Racing ultimately secured GT3-AM Teams’ honours in the 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy for a second year in a row. 

The #85 Mercedes-AMG GT3 ended up 12 points clear of Haas RT, which took a hard-earned 3rd in GT3-Am in Dubai and 4th in GT3-Am one round earlier in Abu Dhabi. 

Team mainstays Putman, Espenlaub, Foster (the 2018 Overall GT Drivers’ champions) and Lewis (the reigning GT3-AM Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champion with Putman and Espenlaub) also take the GT3-AM Drivers’ titles 12 points clear of Haas RT’s Torsten Kratz (outright winner of last year’s Hankook 12H ESTORIL), Stanislav Minsky, Thomas Kiefer, and the 24H SERIES’ reigning GT3 Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champion, Mathieu Detry.

Three wins from three outings in the Middle East secured Red Camel-Jordans.nl (#909) a commanding win in the 992 Teams’ title chase, albeit, after scratch results have been calculated, still only eight points ahead of QMMF by HRT (#931), the latter of which finished as 992’s overall runner-up in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Two consecutive class wins mean the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation-supported HRT Performance entry also takes the 992-Am Teams’ championship in only its second full 24H SERIES campaign. 

The United Arab Emirates’ RABDAN Motorsport (#971), supported at all three rounds by FULGENZI Racing, finishes a motivating 3rd in the 992 standings and 2nd in the 992-Am title chase thanks to podium finishes at both the Hankook 12H KUWAIT and the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI. The Abu Dhabi-based Porsche 992 GT3 Cup finished just four points behind QMMF by HRT in the 992 standings.

Scratch results ironically mean that Rik Breukers, who was unable to compete in Abu Dhabi, joins father and brother Ivo and Luc in the 992 Drivers’ winner’s circle. 2019 Overall TCE Drivers’ ‘Continents’ champion Fabian Danz also nets his second 24H SERIES driver’s crown. 

Eight points further back, Qatari compatriots Abdulla Ali Al Khelaifi, Ghanim Al Ali and Ibrahim Al Abdulghani are the 992 Drivers’ runners-up with PRO driver Julian Hanses, though the quartet do take 992-Am Drivers’ honours. Christopher Zöchling and the UAE’s Saif Alameri complete the 992 drivers’ rostrum. 

Just six points further back, back-to-back 4th place finishes in the UAE vaults NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing to 3rd in the 992-Am Teams’ standings, with Gijs Bessem – the only driver to contest both races with the Dutch team – doing likewise in the 992-Am Drivers’ rankings. 

Toro Verde GT (#795) completed a successful winter program with its developmental Ginetta G56 Cup with a second category win at the Hankook 24H DUBAI, a result that netted the British team the GTX Teams’ 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy.

Toro Verde started with GTX class victory at the Hankook 12H KUWAIT, and bounced back from bird-strike-related engine failure in Abu Dhabi to take victory in Dubai. The result confirms Ginetta CEO Lawrence Tomlinson, his son Freddie and Ginetta factory driver Mike Simpson as the new GTX Drivers’ champions. 

Vortex V8 (#701) finished just four points behind – 80 points to 76 – after an encouraging campaign for its brand-new 2.0, one that included three category pole positions, a class win in Abu Dhabi, and recovery drives to the class podium in both Kuwait and Dubai. Long-time Vortex teammates Lionel Amrouche and Philippe Bonnel, together with team co-owners Arnaud and Olivier Gomez, competed at all three rounds and thus finish 2nd in the GTX Drivers’ standings. 

Last year’s GTX Teams’ 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy winner razoon – more than racing (#714) endured a tough campaign for the KTM X-Bow, one that included ABS failure and a lost wheel in Kuwait, wheel bearing failure in Abu Dhabi and collision damage in Dubai, though the Austrian team did eventually finish 3rd. Daniel Drexel, Artur Chwist and Kuwaiti Haytham Qarajouli also take 3rd in the GTX Drivers’ standings. 

Fittingly, one of the continually closest title fights in the 24H SERIES over the last few years ended in a dead heat, as Century Motorsport (#429) and AGMC Racing team by Simpson Motorsport (#438) finished the three-round 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy level on 76 points. In the end, Simpson Motorsport was declared the GT4 Teams’ title winner on countback. 

After starting the season strongly with a class win in Kuwait, Simpson Motorsport lost victory to Century Motorsport at the final corner in Abu Dhabi after a scintillating comeback drive by Charlie Robertson. Though both teams retired early from the Hankook 24H DUBAI, Simpson Motorsport’s classified 2nd in-class was enough to clinch the title. 

Ironically, Vasily Vladykin and Andrey Solukovtsev secured GT4 Drivers’ honours, despite competing against Simpson Motorsport in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The pair took GT4 class victory with the British outfit in Kuwait, but switched to the Continental Racing by TTR Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo for the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI and the Hankook 24H DUBAI. Victory at the Autodrome helped the UAE-based team secure 3rd in the GT4 Teams’ ranking.

In the title chase, Vladykin and Solukovtsev finish just four points clear of Simpson Motorsport’s Fabian Duffieux, and Century’s Ravi Ramyead and Robertson. Duffieux’s Abu Dhabi / Dubai teammate Ivan Krapivtsev meanwhile ends the season 3rd. 

Simpson Motorsport also celebrated victory in both the overall TCE and TCR Teams’ 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy standings, the British outfit’s Audi RS 3 LMS DSG having taken its second TCR class win of the season in Dubai. 

After finishing 3rd in-class in Abu Dhabi, Simpson Motorsport caps off a successful Middle East campaign eight points ahead of TCX Teams’ title winner CWS Engineering in TCE and four ahead of AC Motorsport in TCR. The latter lost ground in the title chase after recurrent power steering issues befell its Audi RS3 LMS TCR in Dubai. 

Despite a troubled 5th in Dubai with AC Motorsport, two-time British Touring Car Championship Independents’ Cup winner James Kaye finished four points clear of Andrei Muraveika and last year’s TCR Drivers’ 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy winner Ivars Vallers in the TCR Drivers’ standings to seal the TCR Drivers’ crown.

Kaye also finishes eight points ahead of Muraveika and Hankook 24H DUBAI teammate Ricky Coomber in the overall TCE Drivers’ standings. Newly crowned TCX Drivers’ champion Colin White also finished joint-2nd in the overall TCE Drivers’ title chase, consistency having proved crucial: the CWS Engineering team owner finished 2nd overall in TCE in Kuwait – his first race in more than 18 months after a heavy accident in the UK at Thruxton – and once again in Dubai, sealing TCX class victory on both occasions. Nearest title rival Owen Hizzey was victorious in both Dubai (with teammate White) and Abu Dhabi, but falls short on countback courtesy of White’s runner-up spot as Yas Marina.

After a short break, the first European round of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook in 2024 is scheduled to take place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Mugello. The circuit is set to host the 10th edition of the Hankook 12H MUGELLO on 22-23-24 March. One month later the 24H SERIES continues at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with the Hankook 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS on 19-20-21 April. After stop-offs at the Autódromo do Algarve on 10-11-12 May and the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on 5-6 July, CREVENTIC’s European season draws to a close with the 25th Hankook 24H BARCELONA at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 13-14-15 September. Further details can be found HERE