Round 3 / Enduro 3 - Race Report

The Gulf ProCar 2024/25 Championship and Enduro Cup series revisited the Dubai Autodrome for Round 3 and Enduro 3 last weekend, 22nd-24th November.

This event was the last race meeting of 2024 for the series, as we enter a mid-season break for the Festive and New Year period.

Saturday featured the usual warm-up, qualifying and 2x sprint races for the Championship Round, whilst Sunday included warm-up, qualifying and a single 60 minute race as a part of the Enduro Event; a plethora of competitive track time which had followed 3 days of testing that started on Wednesday afternoon.

Jonathan Cole & James Bourke - Class 5 / Car 5 / Honda DC5 K24

Gulf ProCar, promoted by GulfSport Racing, took to the 5.39km GP Layout of the Dubai Autodrome with drivers extremely close in the Championship and Enduro Cup points standings. Temperatures eased, compared to the first two weekends of the season, and drivers were as eager as ever to take home a strong points haul from the meeting.

Ricky Coomber - Class 2 / Car 5 / Porsche 992 Cup

Championship Season - Round 3

14 cars entered into Round 3 of the Gulf ProCar Series, a combination of returning drivers and new faces. David Frederick von Rosen joined the grid for the first time, sporting his stunning Porsche 718 RS CS GT4. Additionally, Gurunath Balasubramanian returned to the Gulf ProCar series for the first time this season. Gurunath is the reigning Class 2 Champion, and his welcomed return was made in the Porsche 992 Cup Car that he took victory in last year.

Round 3 saw the Championship Season’s first night race of the year, with a substantial lighting upgrade at the Dubai Autodrome elevating the night racing experience here. It is always a special experience having these beautiful machines singing into the night, whilst headlights pierce through the darkness.

Class 5 featured a sole entry of Jonathan Cole and James Bourke (No.5) in their Honda DC5 K24. Development and refinement of the car has certainly come to fruition after a somewhat troubled start to the year, understandable considering the major drivetrain transformation that the car went through during the offseason.

Starting their weekend on a high, the car placed 8th overall in qualifying. James was the nominated driver of the car for Race 1, utilising his experience to deliver a strong performance whilst battling with the Toyota GT86 cars, bringing the car home in a solid 9th place overall. Jonathan stepped into the car for Race 2, with headlights on and ready for battle. Jonathan drove a great race, finishing 8th overall, ahead of those in Class 86 with his lap times only a few tenths shy of the pace set in qualifying, highlighting the consistency of both driver and car.

Krishna Reddy - Class 4 / Car 11 / Honda EP3

Class 4 once again saw the return of Krishna Reddy (No.11) in the Honda EP3, a different car to the one that he had piloted in the previous two rounds. A new car that was fresh off the boat from the UK, brought in to run whilst his original EP3 was receiving gearbox work and an electrical overhaul, after some troubles last time out at Yas Marina Circuit.

A last minute decision to run the new EP3 naturally meant that Krishna was up against it, learning the car on the spot with every lap turned.

Krishna powered on, placing 14th overall in qualifying and taking this on to a 11th place finish overall in Race 1. Unfortunately, Krishna was unable to take the start of Race 2 due to a technical issue.

We look forward to seeing Krishna back in the new year, as he goes into the second half of the season with a strong points position on the Championship standings. The expected return of Krishna’s closest Class 4 rival, Daniel Jones, will make for an exciting race to the Class 4 title once Gulf ProCar returns in January.

Nadim Haddad - Class 86, Car 47, Toyota GT86

Class 86 featured a 5 car entry for Round 3. Nadim Haddad (No.47) arrived with support from Yas Marina Circuit’s Racing Division, Marios Giannoros (No.75), Naif Fakher Alshawaf (No.31) and Omar Hiasat (No.16) returned with support from the Rowe by Trackdays.ae team, and Avik Anwar (No.71) was back in his Racing DNA GT86.

Saturdays competitive action kicked off with Nadim Haddad setting the pace for Class 86 in qualifying, taking pole position for both Sprint Races. Lap times across the whole Class 86 field were very close, with all drivers within two and a half seconds of each other.

Race 1 was an exciting affair, with Avik Anwar fighting his way through the field to take the fight to Nadim, but was not quite able to dethrone him as he crossed the line just two tenths behind. The drivers from the Rowe by Trackdays.ae engaged in a close battle, but contact between Naif and Omar forced an early retirement for the 31 car. Marios drove a clean race until a loss of control on the final lap brought his race to an end after making contact with the barrier at turn 9. Fortunately, Marios was unharmed and walked away from the incident, but the damage to the car was not repairable and his weekend ended here.

Race 2 began with fewer of the Class 86 cars taking the start, Naif also not able due to car damage. Nevertheless, the race was full of excitement. Nadim lead the class after starting from pole, with Omar and Avik hot on his heels. However, this battle was short lived after Nadim’s car ground to a halt with a technical issue on Lap 6, bringing his race to and end as the safety car was deployed. Omar stayed consistent to bring the car home in P1, followed by Avik in P2.

David Frederick von Rosen - Class 3 / Car 23 / Porsche 718 RS CS GT4

Class 3 included newcomer David Frederick von Rosen (No.23), with support from Neuhofer Rennsport / Dragon Racing, in a Porsche 718 RS CS GT4. David may be new to competitive racing, but displayed immense comfortability and pace throughout the weekend. David is working his way towards an International License, choosing the Gulf ProCar series to gain more seat time during the winter months.

David had a superbly consistent weekend, qualifying the car in 7th place overall behind the 992 Cup Cars, finishing Race 1 in 6th place and Race 2 in 7th place overall. Although David was the only entrant into Class 3 this weekend, he rounded up a wonderful display of Porsche machinery featuring GT3, Cup and GT4 spec cars from the Stuttgart based brand.

Shawki El Armali - Class 2 / Car 82 / Porsche 992 Cup

Five Class 2 cars arrived for Round 3 of the Gulf ProCar Championship, all of which being Porsche 992 Cup Cars. Ricky Coomber (No.999), Rawad Sarieddine (No.37), Shawki El Armali (No.82), Alex G (No.44) and the reigning GPC Class 2 Champion, Gurunath Balasubramanian (No.39).

Saturday began with Gurunath setting the benchmark, with blistering pace and picking up where he had left off last year by taking Pole position for Race 1 and Race 2. Alex G qualified 2nd in class, ahead of Ricky Coomber in 3rd, Class 2 points championship leader Rawad Sarieddine in 4th, and Shawki El Armali in 5th.

Race 1 brought an exciting battle in Class 2 with Safety Car interventions preventing any runaway results. Alex proved to be the quickest Class 2 driver based on laptime, as has often been the case this season, but Gurunath held off the attack from the 44 car and managed the safety car restart perfectly to claim victory in class and overall. Rawad rounded out the podium in third place, followed by Shawki and then Ricky.

Race 2 saw another dominant display from Gurunath, finishing over 8 seconds down the road from Alex, a clean sweep weekend for Gurunath. The remaining finishing order was mostly the same with Rawad claiming third position, aside from Ricky finishing ahead of Shawki. Rawad and Shawki continue to develop their driving lap-by-lap in what is a debut season of motor racing for the Lebanese teammates, whilst the vastly experienced Ricky chips away at learning and dialling in his newly acquired 992 Cup Car.

Jim & Glynn Geddie - Class 1 / Car 98 / Porsche 991.2 GT3R

Class 1 featured the Father-Son duo of Jim and Glynn Geddie (No.98) in their Porsche 991.2 GT3R with Dragon Racing, the sole entrant as damage to the Lamborghini of Andrey Solukovtsev and endurance prep underway for the Audi of Vasily Vladykin meant that the Continental Racing teammates were unable to participate.

Jim qualified P1 overall for Race 1, but due to Glynn not posting a lap in qualifying, the car was placed at the back of the grid for Race 2.

Jim participated in Race 1, however an unfortunate spin on the opening lap of the race forced the 98 car into a pitstop and then an eventual retirement from the race, despite managing to avoid any contact with fellow competitors and the barriers.

Glynn stepped into the car for Race 2, as darkness fell at the Dubai Autodrome. This was the first competitive session that Glynn had participated in this season, and the wait certainly did not disappoint. Glynn wasted no time at the race start, swiftly making his way through the traffic. Not such an easy task against the lighter, less draggy 992 Cup Cars on the GP layout of the Dubai Autodrome. Regardless, Glynn quickly found himself in the lead and from there on it was plain sailing, ultra consistent lap times and a very tidy drive to the chequered flag.

Avik Anwar (Left), Omar Hiasat (Centre), Naif Fakher Alshawaf (Right) - Class 86

Enduro Cup - Enduro 3

Enduro 3 was a return to the standard Enduro format of Warm Up, Qualifying and 1x 60 minute race. Welcoming the dropping temperatures, Alex G and Andrea Girondi entered in the Number 44 Enrico Fulgenzi Racing Porsche 992 Cup Car, that had ran in the Championship Round on Saturday with Alex at the wheel. Accompanying the 44 car on the grid was the Number 23 Porsche 718 RS CS GT4 car of David Frederick von Rosen and Oliver Webb.

Although we continue to work towards building the grid size of the newly introduced Enduro Cup, the 44 car and the 23 car relished the opportunity of an extended weekend of track time on the full GP layout of the Dubai Autodrome. Qualifying saw Alex G and Andrea Girondi take pole position, followed by David Frederick von Rosen and Oliver Webb in second place. In the Enduro race, a mandatory pitstop was fulfilled by both cars and the qualifying order remained, with Alex and Andrea taking the win with David and Oliver in second place.

Enduro Cup takes a break now, with the series returning for Enduro 4 on April 6th at the Dubai Autodrome.

Alex G & Andrea Girondi, Enrico Fulgenzi Racing - Class 2 / Car 44 / Porsche 992 Cup