We have reached the first major endurance race of the year and it is once again the Dubai 24 Hour.
This will be the 15th time this race has taken place and it is again the season opener for the 24H Series season.
This year sees a slight change, as the A6 class will be known as the GT3 class, which is what has made up the class for years. Once again, the top class will be split between professional and amateur entries. This year's race features 11 GT3-PRO entries and nine GT3-AM entries with only four manufactures spread across the 20 entries.
GT3-PRO
#4 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 2019
Drivers: Khaled Al Qubaisi, Hubert Haupt, Ben Barker, Manuel Metzger, Jeroen Bleekemolen
Why this car could win: Al Qubaisi, Haupt and Bleekemolen are three of the eight drivers to have won the Dubai 24 Hour twice. Metzger has won the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Black Falcon has won this race four times, the only other team to win it multiple times is Duller Motorsport, which won the first two editions.
Why this car won't win: Oof... first entry and I am not sure I can come up with a good answer. This will be a race contender. If it doesn't win it is because this is a 24-hour race and there could be two or three cars are just better, this could be the contender that gets caught in an incident that wasn't of its making or this is the car where something breaks, the team loses ten laps fixing it and it just wasn't this entry's year.
#7 MS7 by WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo 2019
Drivers: Mohammed Saud Fahad Al Saud, Michael Vergers, Dries Vanthoor, Christopher Mies
Why this car could win: Mies is a GT3 maverick, with victories in the Bathurst 12 Hour, 24 Hours Nürburgring and championships in the Blancpain Endurance Series and ADAC GT Masters. Vanthoor has won the Bathurst 12 Hour and he has plenty of GT3 success. Vergers won the LMP2 championship in the European Le Mans Series in 2006. WRT is one of the leading GT3 teams in the world and won this race in 2016. This team were runner-up finishers in this race last year.
Why this car won't win: Amazingly, this is one of the races Mies has not won. Add to it WRT is going to run the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, spreading its operation to new races. Audi is coming off winning this race last year. Only twice has a manufacture won this race in consecutive years.
#10 SPS auotmotive performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Valentin Pierburg, Tom Onslow-Cole, Dominik Baumann, Lance David Arnold
Why this car could win: Mercedes-AMG has four Dubai 24 Hour victories. Onslow-Cole and Pierburg have won two consecutive International GT Open Pro-Am championships. Onslow-Cole won the 24H Series A6-Pro championship in 2015. Baumann has won multiple SRO GT3 championships.
Why this car won't win: All four of Mercedes-AMG's Dubai 24 Hour victories have come from Black Falcon. There are some strong entries in this field.
#24 GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (991 II)
Drivers: Dirk Werner, Julien Andlauer, Stuart Hall, Jordan Grogor, Frédéric Fatien
Why this car could win: Werner is a sports car veteran. Andlauer is one of the most promising and rising Porsche drivers. Hall won the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am drivers in 2013. Hall, Grogor and Fatien have been racing together and know each other. GPX Racing won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last year.
Why this car won't win: I am not sure Grogor and Fatien are at a high enough level to compete for an overall victory but I will say this is the best Porsche entered in GT3 and it would not be a surprise if this car takes the checkered flag first overall.
#31 WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo 2019
Drivers: Rolf Ineichen, Mark Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti, Kevlin van der Linde
Why this car could win: Both the Ineichens won this race in 2014, the Ineichens and Bortolotti have a lot of experience together back at GRT Grasser Racing Team. Rolf Ineichen and Bortolotti have won the GT Daytona class the previous two years at the 24 Hours of Daytona and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in GTD last year. Van der Linde is coming off an ADAC GT Masters championship and he has won the 24 Hours Nürburgring.
Why this car won't win: It is hard to see how this car will not be in contention. This is Bortolotti's first time in an Audi after switching over from Lamborghini. The Ineichens are making the move to Audi as well. This could be a team that is working out the cobwebs this year but next year will be the clear favorite. I don't necessarily think that will be the case. I think this team could do it this year.
#77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2019
Drivers: Adrian Amstutz, Patrick Kujala, Jordan Witt, Dennis Lind
Why this car could win: Amstutz won this race in 2014. Amstutz, Kujala and Lind ran together last year and won the 24 Hours Barcelona. Lind was a part of the Orange1 FFF Racing Team that won the Blancpain Endurance Cup championship last year but missed the final race due to illness and will not be included in record book as a champion. Witt ran for Barwell Motorsport in the Blancpain Endurance Cup Silver Cup and won the class at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Why this car won't win: This car is a little too amateur to win this race. On top of that, it is the only non-German car between both GT3 classes and German manufactures have won all 14 times this race has been contested.
#84 HTP Winward Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Al Faisal Al Zubair, Maximilian Götz, Maximilian Buhk, Christopher Bruck, Indy Dontje
Why this car could win: Götz and Buhk have plenty of history together in GT3 competition. Götz is a Blancpain Sprint Series champion. Buhk is a Blancpain GT Series champion. Götz and Buhk won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2013. Dontje has had success in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series.
Why this car won't win: Götz and Buhk cannot win this race alone. Dontje is a good addition. I think Al Zubair and Bruck are too relative unknowns. This is a good line up and it could get a
#88 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo 2019
Drivers: Rik Breukers, Christopher Haase, Mike-David Ortmann, Dimitri Parhofer, Markus Winkelhock
Why this car could win: This car won the race last year. The only difference Frédéric Vervisch is out and Winkelhock and Ortmann are in. Haase has two victories in the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Haase and Winhelhock won the 2017 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Winkelhock has an FIA GT1 World Championship, Intercontinental GT Challenge championship and a Blancpain Sprint Series Pro-Am Cup championship.
Why this car won't win: Repeating is hard to do. It would not be a surprise if this car did. Only Black Falcon and Duller Motorsport have won the Dubai 24 Hour in consecutive years.
#91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (991 II)
Drivers: Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn, Robert Renauer, Alfred Renauer, Sven Müller
Why this car could win: Allemann, Bohn and the Renauers won this race in 2017. Allemann and the Renauers won three more races that year and Bohn returned for a victory in the finale at Austin. Herberth Motorsport won twice in the 2018 24H Series season and in 2019 the team won twice in A6-Am with Allemann, Bohn and Robert Renauer. Müller is a Porsche SuperCup champion and a budding Porsche driver.
Why this car won't win: This team has been successful in 24H Series and Müller is a respectable driver but there feels like four or five better teams and it is difficult to see this car winning on all out pace. This could be a top five finisher.
#99 Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS Evo 2019
Drivers: Duncan Huisman, Nicolas Schöll, Luc Braams, Max Braams
Why this car could win: Huisman and Luc Braams won the GT4 European Series Northern Cup Pro-Am championship in 2017. The Braams and Huisman have experience in this race in the V8 Racing Corvette. Attempto Racing is a regular team in the 24H Series.
Why this car won't win: There are a lot of strong cars and teams. It is hard to see how this car breaks through.
#777 Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Philip Ellis, Patrick Assenheimer, Martin Konrad
Why this car could win: Engel and Stolz were vice-champions in the Blancpain Sprint Series championship last year. Engel won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 2016. Assenheimer has a lot of GT3 experience with Black Falcon. Konrad won the A6-Am class last year in the Dubai 24 Hour.
Why this car won't win: Engel and Stolz are not going to be enough.
GT3-AM
#19 MP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Daniël de Jong, Henk de Jong, Bert de Heus, Jaap van Lagen
Why this car could win: This team showed up for last year's race. Daniël de Jong has some single-seater success. Van Lagen is a full-time Porsche SuperCup competitor. The de Jongs and de Heus ran this race the year before that.
Why this car won't win: It is a good but not a great line up for the overall victory. I think it could compete for the class victory.
#26 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS Evo 2019
Drivers: Pierre-Yves Paque, Christian Kelders, Daniel Desbrueres, Michael Blanchemain, Steven Palette
Why this car could win: Sainteloc has a history of winning races and being a competitive team.
Why this car won't win: Too many unknowns with this entry.
#28 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (991 II)
Drivers: Roberto Pampanini, Ivan Jacoma, Mauro Calamia, Stefano Monaco, Mikkel Overgaard Pedersen
Why this car could win: You got me... I have no clue how this car could win other than it makes zero mistakes and everyone else does.
Why this car won't win: That is the easy one, as it is the third best Dinamic Motorsport cars and I am not sure it can beat those two let alone the rest of the cars in the GT3 field.
#29 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (991 II)
Drivers: Philipp Sager, Helmut Rödig, Bashar Mardini, Christopher Zochling
Why this car could win: Zochling has been around the block before.
Why this car won't win: There are too many good cars in this field for this entry to come out on top either in class or overall.
#34 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 Evo 2019
Drivers: Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff, Gustav Edelhoff, Elmar Grimm, Ingo Vogler
Why this car could win: Because this team won the A6-Am class in last year's season finale at Austin and its sister car could be an overall winner for the second consecutive year.
Why this car won't win: The Dubai 24 Hour is the deepest race of the 24H Series season and just because you can win other races does not mean you can win this one.
#69 Team Hong Kong Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Jonathan Hui, Antares Au, Frank Yu, Kevin Tse
Why this car could win: Craft-Bamboo Racing is a known name in the racing world and it has been having success in the GT World Challenge Asia series. This team did finish tenth overall last year and fourth in the A6-Am class.
Why this car won't win: It was 15 laps down to the overall winner last year. It was only three laps down to the A6-Am class winner last year so many it could be a surprise class winner but I think even the GT3-AM class is too far out of reach.
#70 Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Axcil Jefferies, Alexander Hrachowina, George Kurtz, Martin Konrad, Finlay Hutchison
Why this car could win: Jefferies has been developing as a GT3 driver and ran in the VLN Series last year. Hrachowina was a part of the A6-Am class winners in this race last year. Kurtz has run the World Challenge America Series in the past with some success. Hutchison is a young driver who has spent his time in Blancpain Endurance Series Silver Cup and GT4 European Series.
Why this car won't win: I think this team just will not have the legs for a 24-hour race. This is a line up that is pieced together and doesn't really have a lot of experience with each other.
#85 CP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo2019
Drivers: Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub, Mike Hedlund, Shane Lewis, Joe Foster
Why this car could win: Putman, Espenlaub and Foster have plenty of experience in this series and this race. Hedlund is coming off an excellent season in the World Challenge America Series. Lewis has plenty of endurance race experience.
Why this car won't win: This car is one of the favorites for the class but an overall victory is a lot to ask for in this race.
#95 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (991 II)
Drivers: Eric Lux, Gerard Lopez, Tim Müller, Jürgen Härin, Will Bamber
Why this car could win: Earl Bamber Motorsport won last year's Bathurst 12 Hour in the team's first attempt.
Why this car won't win: Lightning does not typically strike twice and there are better line ups in this class.
Last year's victory for Audi gave the manufacture its second Dubai 24 Hour victory. Audi is still fourth all-time with Porsche sitting on five victories, Mercedes-AMG on four and BMW with three victories.
Seven of the previous 14 editions of the Dubai 24 Hour have seen the overall winner complete 600 laps or more. The record for laps completed is 628 laps set in 2012 with the Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG that Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards, Thomas Jäger and Khaled Al Qubaisi drove.
The 15th Dubai 24 Hour will begin at 6:00 a.m. ET on Friday January 10th.
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