The Gulf 12 Hours will return to its traditional December slot at Yas Marina Circuit this year with a very different look.
The 2022 race will be run as a continuous 12-hour race for the first time in its history, rather than being split into two six-hour parts.
The race was first held at the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 circuit back in January 2012 with 10 editions run in total there to date: the last in January this year with the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG team of Isa Al Khalifa, Ben Barnicoat and Martin Kodric. The same team also won a special edition of the Gulf 12 Hours at Bahrain International Circuit in January 2021 in a McLaren 720S GT3.
While the last two editions of the race were moved to January to accommodate revised dates of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which took place later in the year due to the pandemic hit season – 2022 sees the event return to its traditional date in December.
“We are delighted to see the Gulf 12 Hours back at its original December date which has always been the preferred date of our competitors on the international calendar,” said Andrea Ficarelli, head of the promoter team. “We expect to return to a sold-out entry list as already experienced in December 2019 which was our last event before the pandemic affected the sport globally and the UAE motorsport calendar.
“Due to popular demand, we also have taken on board feedback from all our competitors past and present and are happy to introduce a 12-hour race in one go instead of in two parts. We also will have more exciting updates to be announced in the coming weeks, including the possible race debut of some 2023 cars.”
The 2022 Gulf 12 Hours Abu Dhabi in December will be open to five categories of cars including GT3 Pro, GT3 ProAm, GT3 Am, GT4 and a new class for Porsche GT3 Cup (992).
A decision on Ligier JS2R and KTM X-Bow GTX entries is currently under evaluation.
Team entries will officially open on Friday 10 June 2022 (six months ahead of the event).
Teams, interested in the event can register for information here >>
