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GT Racing
GT: AF Corse Wins Gulf 12 Hours Thriller
Quality, not quantity highlighted the inaugural running of the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi...
AF Corse mastered the inaugural Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi, in a race that unexpectedly produced close battles. (Photo: John Dagys)
While Friday’s Gulf 12 Hours no doubt had a slender field, the first-ever endurance race at Yas Marina Circuit produced a thrilling down-to-the-wire battle that nobody could have scripted, or even conceived prior to the start of the week in Abu Dhabi.
After a heated three-way fight for the overall victory for much of race, which was split into two six-hour segments, AF Corse came out on top, thanks to an impressive late race drive by Marco Cioci.
The Italian passed the United Autosports Audi R8 LMS of Ryan Dalziel with only 18 minutes remaining to take the victory for he and co-drivers Matt Griffin and Piergiuseppe Perazzini.
“We had to just tell Marco to push as hard as he could," Griffin said. “He did a brilliant job. We had no brakes left at the end of my stint, so he had to put [a lot] on the line those last few laps to get it done.”
Cioci's Ferrari F458 Italia GT3 edged out a recovering Philipp Peter in the No. 1 Kessel Racing Ferrari by just 2.636 seconds at the line. Peter benefited from a late-race caution that brought his Prancing Horse back into contention after serving a drive-through penalty following his final stop.
With one hour to go, it was shaping up to be a fairy-tale finish for United Autosports, as Enzo Potolicchio pitted from the lead, handing over to Dalziel for the final stint. However, the Scottish ace was quickly reeled in by Cioci, and the final safety car period, which set up a 27-minute run to the finish, dashed any hopes of a victory.
“We all drove the wheels off it all day, all the guys did an incredible job,” Dalziel said. “We went a little bit off-strategy, but came out in the lead and everything was going perfectly until the last safety car which was the last thing we wanted.”
Dalziel crossed the line in third, but only 9.868 seconds behind the winning AF Corse machine. All three cars fought tooth-and-nail throughout day, in a race that saw only 15 starters, one-third of them in the GT3 category. But it was rather quality, rather than quantity, that made the race a success.
“It was a nice battle at the end because after two six hour races, to be so close, within a few seconds, with three professional drivers in the same category [was good]," said AF Corse team owner Amato Ferrari.
Griffin added: “I think it was a brilliant race that was very exciting. The entry was low but the quality was there an it showed after six hours with the top-three separated by less than [ten] seconds.”
Ten cars finished, which featured a unique 90-minute intermission period at the halfway point a pit stop time-based Balance of Performance procedure between GT and FIA CN2-class prototypes.
BoP, however, did not play a factor, as only one of the junior prototypes was classified at the finish, that being the No 18 Ibanez Racing Service Norma M20F. The French squad finished eighth overall, 21 laps behind the GT3-winning Ferrari.
The pole-sitting No. 45 Avelon Formula Wolf GB08 stopped on track with less than 10 minutes to go and did not take the checkered flag.
Other class winners include the PFI Racing Porsche (Cup) and the Yas Marina Circuit Aston Martin Vantage, also the only GT4 class finisher.
RESULTS: Gulf 12 Hours
PHOTOS: Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
After a heated three-way fight for the overall victory for much of race, which was split into two six-hour segments, AF Corse came out on top, thanks to an impressive late race drive by Marco Cioci.
The Italian passed the United Autosports Audi R8 LMS of Ryan Dalziel with only 18 minutes remaining to take the victory for he and co-drivers Matt Griffin and Piergiuseppe Perazzini.
“We had to just tell Marco to push as hard as he could," Griffin said. “He did a brilliant job. We had no brakes left at the end of my stint, so he had to put [a lot] on the line those last few laps to get it done.”
Cioci's Ferrari F458 Italia GT3 edged out a recovering Philipp Peter in the No. 1 Kessel Racing Ferrari by just 2.636 seconds at the line. Peter benefited from a late-race caution that brought his Prancing Horse back into contention after serving a drive-through penalty following his final stop.
With one hour to go, it was shaping up to be a fairy-tale finish for United Autosports, as Enzo Potolicchio pitted from the lead, handing over to Dalziel for the final stint. However, the Scottish ace was quickly reeled in by Cioci, and the final safety car period, which set up a 27-minute run to the finish, dashed any hopes of a victory.
“We all drove the wheels off it all day, all the guys did an incredible job,” Dalziel said. “We went a little bit off-strategy, but came out in the lead and everything was going perfectly until the last safety car which was the last thing we wanted.”
Dalziel crossed the line in third, but only 9.868 seconds behind the winning AF Corse machine. All three cars fought tooth-and-nail throughout day, in a race that saw only 15 starters, one-third of them in the GT3 category. But it was rather quality, rather than quantity, that made the race a success.
“It was a nice battle at the end because after two six hour races, to be so close, within a few seconds, with three professional drivers in the same category [was good]," said AF Corse team owner Amato Ferrari.
Griffin added: “I think it was a brilliant race that was very exciting. The entry was low but the quality was there an it showed after six hours with the top-three separated by less than [ten] seconds.”
Ten cars finished, which featured a unique 90-minute intermission period at the halfway point a pit stop time-based Balance of Performance procedure between GT and FIA CN2-class prototypes.
BoP, however, did not play a factor, as only one of the junior prototypes was classified at the finish, that being the No 18 Ibanez Racing Service Norma M20F. The French squad finished eighth overall, 21 laps behind the GT3-winning Ferrari.
The pole-sitting No. 45 Avelon Formula Wolf GB08 stopped on track with less than 10 minutes to go and did not take the checkered flag.
Other class winners include the PFI Racing Porsche (Cup) and the Yas Marina Circuit Aston Martin Vantage, also the only GT4 class finisher.
RESULTS: Gulf 12 Hours
PHOTOS: Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA GT Nogaro
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