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GT Racing
GT: Avelon Formula, AF Corse On Front Row For Gulf 12H
FIA CN2 prototype and GT3 car share front row for inaugural Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi...
A FIA CN2 car will start from the overall pole for Friday's Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi. (Photo: John Dagys)
The grid for the inaugural Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi has been set, following a multi-class fight for the overall pole in qualifying Thursday at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ivan Bellarosa took his No. 45 Avelon Formula Wolf GB08 to the top spot, thanks to a storming 2:10.167 lap time in his FIA CN2-class machine.
Bellarosa edged out the No. 3 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT3 of Matt Griffin by a considerable 1.520 seconds. Both times were set during the third of four potential 20-minute qualifying sessions, depending on the number of drivers in each squad.
For Griffin, who will share his GT3 class pole-sitting Ferrari with Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini, the Irishman was pleased with his lap time after facing some setbacks earlier in practice.
"We've been really struggling all day with a brake problem and basically changed everything for qualifying," Griffin told SPEED.com. "By the time Marco went out [in qualifying], everything was solved.
"It was really good from then as I had real confidence to push and I pushed hard. I had sectors that were better, but just couldn't quite put it together to better my time."
The No. 1 Kessel Racing Ferrari will start third, thanks to Philipp Peter's 2:11.716 lap time in the fourth session. As a result, the veteran Austrian bumped the No. 5 United Autosports Audi R8 LMS of Ryan Dalziel to fourth overall and third in GT3.
Dalziel and co-drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow each put in consistent lap times, which bodes well heading into Friday's pair of six-hour races.
With some CN2 cars posting faster lap times than the five-car GT3 field, organizers have enacted a unique Balance of Performance procedure, where the junior prototypes will be held for 45 additional seconds during each of the five required pit stops in both races. GT cars will be held for 2 minutes in their pit box during, compared to 2 minutes and 45 seconds for the CN2 cars, for each of the required stops.
Adding a further twist to the race, the maximum drive time is 75 minutes, with no driver allowed to total more than five hours in one of the two races. It will likely result in teams single-stinting their pilots.
Fifteen cars are expected to take the start. Race 1 gets the green flag Friday at 9:30 a.m. local (12:30 a.m. ET), with Race 2 set for 5 p.m. local (8:00 a.m. ET). The aggregate laps from both races will decide the winners in each of the four classes.
RESULTS: Qualifying
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
Ivan Bellarosa took his No. 45 Avelon Formula Wolf GB08 to the top spot, thanks to a storming 2:10.167 lap time in his FIA CN2-class machine.
Bellarosa edged out the No. 3 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT3 of Matt Griffin by a considerable 1.520 seconds. Both times were set during the third of four potential 20-minute qualifying sessions, depending on the number of drivers in each squad.
For Griffin, who will share his GT3 class pole-sitting Ferrari with Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini, the Irishman was pleased with his lap time after facing some setbacks earlier in practice.
"We've been really struggling all day with a brake problem and basically changed everything for qualifying," Griffin told SPEED.com. "By the time Marco went out [in qualifying], everything was solved.
"It was really good from then as I had real confidence to push and I pushed hard. I had sectors that were better, but just couldn't quite put it together to better my time."
The No. 1 Kessel Racing Ferrari will start third, thanks to Philipp Peter's 2:11.716 lap time in the fourth session. As a result, the veteran Austrian bumped the No. 5 United Autosports Audi R8 LMS of Ryan Dalziel to fourth overall and third in GT3.
Dalziel and co-drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow each put in consistent lap times, which bodes well heading into Friday's pair of six-hour races.
With some CN2 cars posting faster lap times than the five-car GT3 field, organizers have enacted a unique Balance of Performance procedure, where the junior prototypes will be held for 45 additional seconds during each of the five required pit stops in both races. GT cars will be held for 2 minutes in their pit box during, compared to 2 minutes and 45 seconds for the CN2 cars, for each of the required stops.
Adding a further twist to the race, the maximum drive time is 75 minutes, with no driver allowed to total more than five hours in one of the two races. It will likely result in teams single-stinting their pilots.
Fifteen cars are expected to take the start. Race 1 gets the green flag Friday at 9:30 a.m. local (12:30 a.m. ET), with Race 2 set for 5 p.m. local (8:00 a.m. ET). The aggregate laps from both races will decide the winners in each of the four classes.
RESULTS: Qualifying
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
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