AF Corse took the first step on the way to a third consecutive Gulf 12 Hours victory this afternoon by winning part 1 of the race at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Marco Cioci, Michele Rugolo and Steve Wyatt finished almost 54 seconds ahead of the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Bernd Schneider and Khaled Al Qubaisi. The new M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 did really well as Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Andy Meyrick brought the #7 car home in third.
Having qualified in fifth place the Italian team knew they had to stay out of trouble and needed some luck to get ahead of the two Kessel Racing Ferrari’s and the Mercedes, but with Bleekemolen behind the wheel the Mercedes was in a league of its own. The Dutchman pulled away quickly from his rivals in the Ferrari’s and the Bentley. After 30 laps Bleekemolen was 20 seconds clear of the #15 Slamstop Ferrari. AF Corse and the #11 Kessel car completed the top 4. Just over 1,5 hours into the race the second Black Falcon car pulled into the pits with a brake line issue – it would take the team nearly three to fix the problem.
After the pit stops the Slamstop Ferrari closed in rapidly on the Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes, now driven by Al Qubaisi, but exiting the Ferrari went wide and hit the barrier, damaging the right rear suspension. The #11 Kessel Ferrari took advantage and moved up into second place. AF Corse followed in third place until the next round of pit stops, where it moved up to second place immediately followed by the Bentley.
Halfway through the race the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes was still leading but a safety car, due to recovery of the stranded #95 Avelon Formula Wolf GB08, resulted in a change of positions. AF Corse pitted straight away while the Black Falcon Mercedes stayed out until the last lap of the safety car and that resulted in the #1 Ferrari gaining a lot of time and taking the lead of the race. The Black Falcon Mercedes dropped to second, a minute behind the Ferrari. M-Sport Bentley was third – a minute behind the Mercedes.
AF Corse’s lead was reduced quickly when Bleekemolen got back into the car and with an hour and 15 minutes to go he had brought the gap down to 15 seconds, but as the Dutchman got out and handed the #3 back over to his teammate the defending champions managed to get away again and disappeared on the horizon.
After six hours the #1 crossed the line in first place, followed by the Mercedes. The Bentley came home in third place.
The #91 Nova Race Ginetta finished part 1 first in GTX and the Avelon Formula Wolf #95 was first in CN.
Marcel ten Caat (@dsceuroeditor)
