Though the team was unable to take chequered flag, Getspeed is confident its Mercedes-AMG GT3 was “by far the fastest vehicle in the field” on its debut at this past weekend’s Hankook 24H DUBAI. 

24H SERIES debutant Getspeed was well in contention for an overall podium finish, and was still on the same lap as eventual winner Eastalent Racing, when the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was pulled from the event shortly after half-distance with a fuel supply defect. Team manager Adam Osieka however has been quick to praise the German outfit for its performance at the 2024 Hankook 24H DUBAI, during which the #9 Mercedes led 49 laps outright (more so than any other team than Eastalent Racing Team) and set four of the event’s five fastest laps, including the quickest, a 1m 59.320s. 

“It was an absolutely successful premiere at the 24 Hours of Dubai, even if we didn’t get a countable result in the end,” Osieka explained. “We were the fastest vehicle in the field and were always in a promising position.”

Having qualified 4th overall, just two-tenths behind outright polesitter Saintéloc Junior Team, Getspeed was already up into the overall lead on the opening lap after an electrifying start by Fabian Schiller. After the opening hour, Schiller, who took pole position with Al Manar Racing by HRT, led Proton Huber Competition by just 1.8 seconds. 

Only once during the following 14 hours did Schiller, and teammates Al Faisal Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann, Martin Konrad and 24H SERIES debutant Anthony Bartone, fell away from the top three. The #9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 looked set to take the fight for victory to the chequered flag before the car was pulled on lap 360, 15 hours in.  

So encouraging was the performance, Osieka was quick to state that Getspeed could return for the 20th edition of the Hankook 24H DUBAI in 2025.

“The fact that we didn't see the checkered flag in the end is of course a big disappointment. But setbacks are always an incentive for us. We will be back!”