Current news from the endurance motorsport scene, short and compact: 2 Seas wins 12h Abu Dhabi – Daytona grid takes shape
GT: 2 Seas Motorsport wins 12h Abu Dhabi (8 January)
Same track, different car, same drivers, same result: 2 Seas Motorsport successfully defended its title at the “Gulf 12 Hours”. Isa Al-Chalifa, Ben Barnicoat and Martin Kodric have now won in Abu Dhabi on Mercedes-AMG after their victory in Bahrain 2021 on McLaren. Like last year, the British-Bahraini team took an unchallenged start-finish victory.
Even two incidents could not stop 2 Seas in the two-part race over two six-hour periods. Shortly before half-time, a defective tyre had to be changed. Two hours before the end, the AMG came into the pits because of a suspected suspension problem. At half-time, the sister car was in second place, the Mercedes-AMG 66 of John Loggie, Morgan Tillbrook and Casper Stevenson. However, this car lost two laps in the second half of the race without a technical problem and dropped back to P4.
So the 46. However, he had to go into quarantine and thus missed the event.
Result 12h Abu Dhabi 2022
IMSA: Ganassi sends IndyCar aces to Daytona (8 January)
The factory Cadillac team Chip Ganassi Racing has announced its line-up for the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona. This will primarily feature the three IndyCar drivers, but Kevin Magnussen will also be there once again. The former Formula 1 driver was a regular driver in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2021, but will focus on his new involvement with Peugeot this year.
The other drivers read like a who’s who of the endurance racing scene. “They have all won on the world stage before and they all race at the same level. With today’s same performance standards [BoP], the drivers are the crucial point. And our line-up is eight of the absolute best,” says Ganassi managing director Mike Hull.
Cadillac DPi V.R 02: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Kevin Magnussen, Markus Ericsson
IMSA: Habsburg to drive 24h Daytona with Tower Motorsport (January 7)
The Tower Motorsport team has submitted an entry for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship in LMP2. The 8 Oreca will be driven by reigning ELMS champion Louis Deletraz and team owner John Farano. The third driver for the four endurance races is Rui Andrade, 2021 ELMS champion in LMP2 Pro-Am. The fourth driver for the 24 Hours of Daytona is Ferdinand Habsburg.
This will be the ex-DTM driver’s third appearance at the January classic in Florida after 2018 (Jackie Chan DC Racing/Jota; P5) and 2021 (High Class Racing; DNF). “Motorsport in America is quite something else. I’ve raced all over the world, but nothing comes close to the nighttime atmosphere at Daytona on race day. It draws you in magically and you just want to go there again and again,” says the 24-year-old. “My goal is clear: I missed out on the Le Mans win, so I’m going to give everything I’ve got to get that at Daytona. “
IMSA: KCMG with Porsche factory support to Daytona (6 January)
Porsche will not miss the opportunity to fight for the Daytona class win right away in the new GTD Pro class. KCMG is the team selected to take part in the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time. The Hong Kong-based team will field a Porsche 911 GT3 R with drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Patrick Pilet and Dennis Olsen.
Team founder Paul Ip points to the team’s 2015 Le Mans class win in the LMP2 category and says: “After our win at Le Mans and our attempts at the Nürburgring and Spa, we are confident that a good result is possible. It’s great to have Porsche back on board. Our driver line-up is a fantastic combination of drivers who have all competed for KCMG in the past. “
