12H Abu Dhabi: Swiss deployment 🎥
WITH "VALE" ROSSI AND WOMEN'S TRIO With five Ferraris, Kessel Racing is aiming for its fifth victory at the Abu Dhabi 12 Hours. The drivers include MotoGP star Valentino Rossi and Rahel Frey. The teaser shot after Wednesday evening's free practice in Abu Dhabi gives a glimpse of the illustrious field. Two major endurance races in [...]
https://www.facebook.com/gulf12hours/videos/467943380588469
The teaser filmed after Wednesday evening's free practice in Abu Dhabi gives a glimpse of the illustrious field of competitors.
Two major endurance races in the Gulf States
While in neighboring Bahrain the 8-hour race will be staged as the fourth round of the cross-season 2019/20 World Endurance Championship (with world champion Sébastien Buemi on Toyota, among others), more than 100 drivers will take part in the 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi without championship pressure.
The race, which is divided into two six-hour sessions on Saturday, December 14, is reserved for cars from the LMP3, GT3, GT4 and GT Cup categories. With 37 cars, the ninth edition of this event is better attended than ever before.
Five Kessel Ferrari among different applications
Kessel Racing is of particular interest there. The Ticino-based team is aiming for its fifth consecutive triumph in the Gulf state.
Two Ferrari 488 GT3s will start under their own promotion, two under the name of Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab, a company newly founded by Kessel customers and sponsored by the watch company Hublot, and one under Monster VR46 Kessel. VR46 is the epitome of seven-time motorcycle world champion Valentino Rossi, who is also known as a good car racer.
Return of the iron ladies
Rahel Frey, Manuela Gostner (I), Michelle Gatting (DK) and, for the first time, Deborah Mayer, co-founder of Iron Lynx and initiator of this women's project, will be driving a Lynx car with a pink stripe pattern. This began exactly one year ago in Abu Dhabi and culminated in 2019 in two podium finishes in the European Le Mans Series and ninth place in the GTE-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Rahel Frey: "It's great that this project is being continued and that Deborah is now also involved as a Ferrari ambassador. The chemistry between us women is right, we also have a lot of fun off the track, which is something you don't often experience in other teams. Together we can achieve even more than before."
A short video looks back at the races of the "Iron Dames".
https://www.facebook.com/irondamesofficial/videos/467424810573525
New Porsche team with Swiss
Like the women, other Swiss GT3 drivers are aiming for a podium at the end of the season. Adrian Amstutz, two-time champion in the Blancpain Endurance Cup in the AM category and overall winner of the Barcelona 24 Hours on September 1, will start in this endurance race for the first time with the Lamborghini Huracán from Barwell (GB).
Mauro Calamia knows the Gulf 12 Hours from last year (2nd LMP3). The former Maserati Trofeo champion from Laupen ZH is now tackling it with a newly formed team. Centro Porsche Lugano with its director and driver Ivan Jacoma is fielding a new Porsche 911 GT3 R in collaboration with Dinamic Motorsport from Italy. The third driver is the Italo-Swiss Roberto Pampanini.
Their next race will be at the 24 Hours of Dubai at the beginning of January. After that, participation in the GT World Challenge Europe, previously known as the Blancpian GT Endurance Cup, is planned.
