Seven Ferraris at the Gulf 12 Hours

The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi is set to host the Gulf 12 Hours, the fifth and final round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, this weekend. On the starting grid of the track, inaugurated in 2009, will be five Ferrari 296 GT3s and two 488 GT3 Evo 2020s featuring two Prancing Horse official drivers: Alessio Rovera and Lilou Wadoux. The race will get underway at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday 10 December.

GT3 Pro-Am. In the AF Corse-run Ferrari 296 GT3 will be Alessandro Cozzi, Alessio Rovera, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Marco Pulcini. Kessel Racing will field the 296 GT3 driven by Anton Dias Perera, Giorgio Roda, Scott Andrews and David Fumanelli, while Racing One lines up the same car with Omar Jackson, Axcil Jefferies, Ramez S. Azzam and Zaamin Jaffer.

GT3 Am. There are two AF Corse 296 GT3s, with the crews made up of Christian Colombo, David Tjiptobiantoro, Lilou Wadoux and Stephane Lemeret; Laurent De Meeus, Jean Claude Saada, Conrad Grunewald and Miguel Ramos. the same Italian team is also entering the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 courtesy of Nicola Marinangeli, Kriton Lendoulis, Christoph Ulrich and Alex Fox; rounding out the Prancing Horse cars in this class is Baron Motorsport’s 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with Ernst Kirchmayr, Axel Sartingen, Daniele di Amato and Philippe Prette.

The history. The 2022 edition of the Gulf 12 Hours ended with Fuoco-Pier Guidi-Calado winning ahead of Rigon-Rovera-Nielsen, both in AF Corse Francorchamps Motors’ Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s, fielded in the Pro class, while in the Am category the Prancing Horse made it a hat-trick with Louis and Philippe Prette-Saada-Grunewald first across the line in the AF Corse-managed car.

The championship. The series, which includes five of the major international endurance events reserved for GT3-class cars, returns to action two months after the most recent round at the 8 Hours of Indianapolis (U.S.). The preceding events of the season were the 24 Hours of Spa (Belgium), the 9 Hours of Kyalami (South Africa), and the opening event, the 12 Hours of Bathurst (Australia).

The programme. After the test sessions on Friday 8 December, Saturday 9 December will feature two one-hour free practice sessions, kicking off at 11:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and qualifying for the four drivers who make up each crew, from 6 p.m. On Sunday 10 December, the race gets the green flag at 10 a.m. (All times are local).