2024 runner-up Optimum Motorsport is returning to the Gulf 12 Hours this weekend, as it seeks to avenge its near-miss from 12 months ago.
Todd Coleman, Aaron Telitz and Ben Barnicoat will pilot the British team’s McLaren GT3 Evo.
Coleman, Telitz and Frederik Schandorff won the event on the road with Optimum last year, but a 60-second time penalty for speeding twice in the pit lane dropped them behind Saintéloc Junior Team’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II post-race.
With Schandorff moving over to the Optimum-run Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 for this year’s race, the Dane has been replaced by 2023 IMSA GTD Pro drivers’ champion Barnicoat.
The 28-year-old is familiar with the Optimum team, having raced for them at Petit Le Mans, the Asian Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Spa across the past few years, winning the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series GT drivers’ title.
Barnicoat will also know Telitz well, having shared Vasser Sullivan Racing’s #14 Lexus RC F GT3 with the American in IMSA competition this season.
The 2025 Gulf 12 Hours will take place at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on 14th December 2025.
Image courtesy of Gulf 12 Hours
