Weekend preview: four Ferraris at the Dubai 24 Hour

The 24H Series season kicks off this weekend with the first of two legs in the Middle East Trophy, featuring action at the Dubai circuit before the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi, scheduled for Friday, 19 January. The opening event in the UAE will see four Ferrari 296 GT3 cars take to the track for the 24-hour race.

The 20th edition of the Dubai 24 Hour marks the start of the 2025 championship, with an entry list boasting over 60 participants, including more than 30 cars in the main GT3 class. Among them, four 296 GT3s will be on the track. The number 8 car, representing UAE-based Into Africa Racing by Dragon Racing, will see Xollie Letlaka, Axcil Jefferies, Matt Griffin, Jason Ambrose and Zaamin Jaffer taking turns at the wheel. Dragon Racing will also field a second Ferrari in the Pro Am class, the number 88, featuring the American trio Dustin Blattner, Blake McDonald, and Patrick Liddy, alongside British driver Matthew Bell.

In the same class, the US-based Era Motorsport team will field the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 81, driven by Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Oliver Bryant, Jake Hill, and Kyle Tilley.

Finally, Scuderia Praha will compete in the Pro Am category with number 56, entrusted to father and son Miroslav Výboh and Matúš Výboh, alongside Josef Král and Dennis Waszek.

After the testing and free practice sessions on Friday morning, the GT3 qualifying session is scheduled to begin at 5.05 p.m. local time and will last 55 minutes. The race is set to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, 11 January, concluding 24 hours later. All times are local.