In winter, the United Arab Emirates take advantage of their dry and sunny climate to organise a few races outside the championship. After the 24 Hours of Dubai during the weekend of 13 and 14 January, a 12 Hours race took place on 20 January at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The specific characteristic of this event is that it takes place in two six hour rounds separated by a one and a half hour break. Cars which, at the end of the first race, finish in the same lap, start again on an equal footing.
This being so, three contenders were neck and neck throughout the race, including the Ferrari F458 GT3 of Kessel Racing, a major player in GT category car racing, founded by Loris Kessel and for which Motul has been a technical partner for several seasons. Driven by the team composed of Philipp Peter, Michael Broniszewski, Antonio Coimbra and Miguel Ramos, the car completed 299 laps and finished a few seconds behind the winner, another Ferrari of team AF Corse. The Kessel Racing car preceded an Audi R8 which remained highly threatening throughout the event.
Philipp Peter, the Kessel Racing driver who took the last relay, admitted at the end of the race: 'I've been participating in endurance races for many years but I'd never experienced such a close finish with three cars in the same lap less than two minutes apart after twelve hours of racing. It was impossible to forecast the final result because the best three always remained very close and the entry of the safety car could change everything. (...) It was an enthralling battle!"
Image: © Kessel Racing
