Team WRT and BMW have successfully defended their victory at the Dubai 24 Hours, following a dominant display by the Belgian squad.
Kelvin van der Linde, Anthony McIntosh, Jordan Pepper, Fran Rueda and Ben Tuck headed home a WRT 1-2 aboard the #669 M4 GT3 Evo, having claimed the lead for good at the start of the 11th hour.
The timing of a Code 60, which fell during a round of GT3 pit stops, vaulted the car from third to first, and strong stints overnight by Tuck and Rueda extended the lead margin so that by the end of Hour 15 the #669 BMW held the top spot even when it pitted.
From here on out, they remained in control, with Pepper – on his first start as a BMW M factory driver – bringing the car home one lap ahead of the sister #27 M4 of Christopher Haase, Stanislav Minsky, Thomas Kiefer, Mathieu Detry and Julian Hanses.
The winning margin somewhat flatters, after Haase pitted for a splash of fuel in the closing minutes, whilst Pepper instead opted for an extreme fuel save on the run to the checkered flag. Before then, the gap had sat at around 75 seconds.
“Just before December I messaged the team and said I want to come here to Dubai and tick this one off, it was the one race I was still missing. Really happy to start the season like this!” van der Linde said.
Pepper added: “We went a bit risky with a lot of fuel saving at the end, but it was a lot of fun getting a target and trying to nail it.”
It is WRT’s fourth Dubai 24H victory in the last five years, bringing them level with Black Falcon as the most successful team in the race’s history. Similarly, BMW has now tied Porsche with six wins, the joint-most for a manufacturer.
The victory also means that WRT, and McIntosh, have won the 2025/26 24H Series Middle East Trophy.
Winward Racing’s #16 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Sergey Stolyarov, Daan Arrow, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz completed the podium, four laps down, following late drama for Paradine Competition’s #992 BMW.
The GT3-Am runner was on course for a sensational overall podium, when James Kellett picked up a puncture on the start/finish straight with 30 minutes to go. The Briton limped back to the pits, where the team diagnosed a brake failure as the cause, and pushed the car back into the garage.
Despite Paradine’s best effort, Kellett was unable to return to the track in the car he shared with McIntosh, Darren Leung and Ahmed Al Harthy, with them eventually classified 16th overall.
The #991 Paradine BMW of Leung, Kellett, Augusto Farfus, Pedro Ebrahim and Jamie Day, which enjoyed a long spell in the lead on Saturday evening, finished fourth, with Herberth Motorsport’s #10 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) claiming GT3-Pro/Am honours in fifth overall thanks to Loek Hartog, Antares Au, Ralf Bohn and Joel Sturm.
The #10 Porsche was the only non-BMW to lead on pace from the moment that van der Linde first claimed the top spot halfway round the opening lap, following a commanding performance by the quartet of the M4 GT3 Evos. As late as the start of the final hour, BMW sat 1-2-3-4, with only Kellett’s puncture preventing a podium sweep.
Sixth went to the #92 Pure Rxcing Porsche, ahead of the #4 Grove Racing by GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG, which lost first and second gear in the closing stages, and required a late stop for fuel.
Al Manar Racing by Dragon’s #777 Ferrari 296 GT3 was on course for a top-six finish, having started from the back of the GT3 field, but an accident on the exit of Turn 9 during the 21st hour forced Al Faisal Al Zubair into retirement on the spot.
Herberth Motorsport’s #269 Porsche made it a GT3-Pro/Am 1-2 for the German squad, in eighth overall, with the #14 Razoon – More Than Racing Porsche ninth. Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport completed the top 10 with its #69 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, which also claimed GT3-Am victory.
The #11 HOFOR Racing Mercedes-AMG and #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche rounded out the GT3-Am podium, with Paradine classified fourth, having led by as many as five laps.
In 992, Tierra Outdoor Racing by FACH claimed a commanding victory, with its #962 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup finishing two laps ahead of the Am-winning #924 Red Ant Racing entry. The #910 Seblajoux Racing Porsche completed the podium.
Leipert Motorsport successfully defended its GTX victory from 12 months ago with its #710 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2, after both the Ginetta G56 GT2 and Rossa LM GT ran into issues in the second half of the race.
The Rossa’s hopes of victory disappeared when it stopped on circuit in the 13th hour, following an alternator drive belt problem. An accident in traffic for Roman Rusinov subsequently forced the local-based effort into retirement.
Team CMR’s #795 Ginetta, meanwhile, put together a near-perfect run for over 21 hours before a split silencer forced Nico Prost to pull over with smoke billowing from the G56 GT2. Following repairs, the Ginetta resumed and held on to finish second, ahead of the #701 Vortex 2.0. Critically, this meant that Team CMR won the Middle East Trophy over Vortex, giving the G56 GT2 its first title in only its fourth outing.
BMW’s form continued over to GT4, where Cerny Motorsport triumphed with its #445 M4 GT4 by 64 laps. asBest Racing’s #102 Cupra DSG TCR won in TCE-TCX, with KCMG claiming TC honours with its #108 Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo ‘B-spec’.
Images courtesy of 24H Series & BMW
