QMMF’s Team Thuraya finishes second at 24H Dubai endurance race

The Qatar Motor & Motorcycles Federation’s (QMMF) Team Thuraya secured a second spot in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992 AM class at the 24H Dubai endurance race on Sunday.In one of the most challenging circuit races in the world, Thuraya was involved in a thrilling battle with Huber Motorsports, who finished on top of the class. The team represented by Qatari drivers Abdulla Ali al-Khelaifi, Ghanim al-Ali, Ibrahim al-Abdulghani and the German semi-pro Julian Hanses completed 590 laps in the Porsche 911 car in 24:01:58.319, with an average speed of 132.32kmh. The team clocked their fastest lap time early in the fourth lap, an impressive 156.91kph at the 5.39km race circuit. Huber Motorsports completed 591 laps in 24:01:23.808, with a top speed of 155.89kmh late into the 24-hour race - in the 568th lap.QMMF’s second team – Suhail, driven by Abdullah al-Abbasi, Ibrahim al-Mannai, Abdulaziz al-Jabri and Swede Daniel Roos, had to retire after hitting the barriers at turn 14. They were also among the 992-AM front-runners in the early stages.After two races in the 2023 season, QMMF Thuraya now sits in the second spot in the 992-AM points table, following successive podium wins. They finished third in the same class in Kuwait on December 8. 2022. QMMF Thuraya and Suhail are supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), Porsche Center Doha, Al Buraq Automotive Company and Lusail International Circuit.Meanwhile, Team WRT took its third outright win at the 24H DUBAI on its endurance racing debut as a BMW M customer outfit. A frontrunner from the get-go, the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 (Mohamed Saud Fahad al-Saud, Diego Menchaca, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, Jens Klingmann, Dries Vanthoor) emerged on top of a race-long battle with the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer) to secure victory by just 31 seconds. In a grandstand finish, the Herberth Porsche led the WRT BMW by just 10 seconds heading into the final 20 minutes of the race, only relinquishing this position in the closing 10 minutes.Meanwhile, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, now a factory BMW rider, represented Team WRT at the Dubai 24H which finished third. With Dries Vanthoor taking victory at the wheel of the Team WRT car, the Belgian team also saw Rossi finish third in a BMW M4 GT3. Fifty three contenders from 42 teams competed at the Dubai endurance race, the second stop in the Middle East Series of the 24h season.