Well… better late than never.
Houthi rebel activity in the Bab El Mandab Strait mean that, for the first time ever, the Hankook 24H DUBAI will not be CREVENTIC’s first official event of the New Year (nor indeed the only 24-hour circuit race of note this weekend!). As such, we would like to start off with a heartfelt thank you to all of our competitors and partners for their on-going support under these difficult circumstances.
And with that, down to business!
The 19th edition of the Hankook 24H DUBAI promises to be among the most intriguing in the event’s history, with entries from former event winners and reigning series champions confirmed, one of the strongest GT3 fields in recent memory, THE strongest 992 field to-date, and competitors from close to two-dozen countries. A fitting grid for the 2023/2024 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy season finale.
There’s also the nostalgic element. 10 years ago for instance, 2012 World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff made his 24H SERIES debut in Dubai, staggering everyone by nearly winning the event outright. ‘Huffy’ gives us his thoughts HERE.
This weekend, we also celebrate 15 years since the closest finish, to-date, at the Hankook 24H DUBAI, during which four overall leaders hit trouble in the closing 60 minutes, and the winning margin was just over 45 seconds after 24 uninterrupted hours of endurance racing. We take a deep dive on the 2009 event with Land Motorsport boss Christian Land and fellow winner Carsten Tilke on page 10.
Our nostalgic tour continues with event staple Kim Hauschild on page 22, whose HRT Performance outfit has been a regular competitor in Dubai for more than a decade, and the Moutran brothers. The local boys, who piloted Duel Racing to the overall 24H SERIES title in 2015, have raced at the event every year, bar one, since 2011, and in our ‘BIG interview on page 30, this charismatic trio have plenty of memories to share.
Radiolemans.com’s Joe Bradley continues his ever-popular ‘Behind Garage Doors’ column in 2024, and looks ahead to a brand new season of endurance racing competition HERE. We also caught up with Century Motorsport’s Nathan Freke at the Hankook 12H KUWAIT to discuss his team’s first endurance run with the new BMW M4 GT3 and hopes of getting back on the top step in Dubai on its eighth appearance.
You might also want to check out official series photographer Nico Mombaerts’ headline images from the 2023 season. And if you joined us for each round of last year’s scintillating season, you may want to read up on how that might affect not only this weekend’s Hankook 24H DUBAI but the 24H SERIES’ European season as a whole, due to kick-off at Mugello in March.
Can BMW take its fourth Hankook 24H DUBAI win this weekend? Will we see another giant-killing performance à la Haas RT? Are we about to celebrate the latest two-time winner of the event?
Let’s find out together. Race hard, stay safe, and we’ll see you all again in Mugello.
