Abu Dhabi 12 hour race
| Abu Dhabi 12 hour race | |
|---|---|
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| Vehicle type | GT3, GT4, Cup, LMP3 |
| Country or region | United Arab Emirates |
| Current name | Gulf 12 Hours |
| First season | 2012 |
| vehicles | GT3, GT4, Cup, LMP3, prototypes |
| Official website | www.gulf12hours.com |
The Abu Dhabi 12-hour race (originally called the Gulf 12 Hours) is a long-distance sports car race that is held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi . The race has been run jointly since 2012 by the operators of the Arab track and the British promoter company Driving Force Events Ltd. and is the longest racing event to take place on the Formula 1 circuit in the United Arab Emirates since then. The race is designed as a single event and not part of a championship.
concept
The race is held in 2 partial runs of 6 hours each, which are interrupted by a two-hour break for repairs. Due to the traditional start times at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time and the date in December, this means that the first part of the race will be held completely in daylight, while the second run will start shortly after sunset and will take place as a night race on the well-lit course. The interruption is treated like a race interruption by a safety car : The completed laps are counted and transferred to the 2nd section, but the gaps are eliminated.
Cars from different GT and prototype classes are eligible to participate , although the details of the approved vehicle categories change from year to year. GT3 , GT4 , Cup and LMP3 vehicles are currently eligible to start as the main categories .
history
In order to achieve an additional utilization of the race track in Abu Dhabi with additional racing events, the organization of a long-distance event was considered for the beginning of the 2012 season. The management of the track obliged the British Driving Force Events Ltd. In contrast to the Dubai 24-hour race, which is already established in the region, the concept of a 12-hour race was developed, which was mainly tailored to private sports car drivers as customers at half the cost of a 24-hour event. Part of the concept was the division into 2 6-hour sections in order to enable the other customer pilots to continue their journey after the repair break in the event of an early failure of one team.
As the main category capable of winning, the focus was placed on the GT3 class from the start , as there is a large proportion of private car owners in this class who are the declared target group of the race. The first edition, in which 15 teams took part, was scheduled for January 2012 two weeks after the event in Dubai. The Italian Ferrari team AF Corse won this race.
With one exception, the races have always been won by Ferrari crews (as of 2018)