The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi hosts the Gulf 12 Hours, the final round of the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge. Nine crews will be at the wheel of the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. Three of these will compete in the GT3 Pro class of the endurance race, which finishes at 10 p.m. local time on Sunday, 11 December.
GT3 Pro. Six Ferrari Competizioni GT official drivers will line up on the 5.281-kilometre track with its 16 corners. Antonio Fuoco is gunning for his first win of the season in a race with 25 points at stake for the winner. He is looking to move up the drivers’ standings, where he currently lies fifth, 35 points behind the leader Daniel Juncadella. The twenty-six-year-old from Calabria shares the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi. In the team’s second car, Davide Rigon, seventh, is partnered by Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen. Kevin Magnussen, with his father Jan, a former F1 driver, and Mark Kvamme, will compete in an AF Corse - MDK Motorsports car.
The Prancing Horse teams in the Manufacturers’ Championship will aim to collect vital points to maintain their current second place, bearing in mind the 71-point gap from the leader.
The other classes. The 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Kessel Racing, crewed by Fumanelli-Jefferies-Roda-Cuhadaroglu, will fly the flag for the Maranello manufacturer in the ProAm. In the Am, the same Swiss team will field the crew of Schirò-Rosi-Pulcini-Tabacchi. AF Corse will start with three cars driven by Sernagiotto-Cozzi-Hanna-Lancieri; Stanley-Fox-De Meeus-Costantini; and Louis and Philippe Prette-Saada-Grunewald. Team Baron Motorsport Middle East supported by AF Corse completes the Ferrari contingent with the car driven by Di Amato-Kirchmayr-Sartingen-Vyboh.
The championship. The GT3 class series returns to the spotlight two months after the 8 Hours of Indianapolis. That race ended with Fuoco-Serra-De Pauw in second and Ragues-Rigon-Molina fourth. The Maranello brand’s other podium finish of the year was at the Spa 24 Hours in July with the Fuoco-Serra-Rigon crew.
Programme. The engines fire up on Friday, 9 December, with four rounds of testing, one of which is mandatory in the evening from 7.45 p.m. On Saturday, two free practice sessions run in the morning, followed by qualifying at 5.15 p.m. On Sunday, the green light goes on for the race, starting at 10 a.m. and finishing at 10 p.m. (all times are local).