Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing finished third in the LMGTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, becoming the first Emirati team to claim a podium place at the race.
For driver Khaled Al Qubaisi, it was a second podium of his career at Le Mans, which acts as Round 3 of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
As well as Al Qubaisi, David Heinemeier Hansson of Denmark and American Patrick Long shared driving duties of the No 88 Porsche 911 RSR.
The race began under safety car due to heavy rain at the Circuit de la Sarthe, and with standing water on the track and poor visibility, the cars spent almost an hour running at reduced speeds before it was safe to start racing.
Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing climbed from P3 to P2 and then P1 shortly after racing began and led for much of the first 12 hours of the race.
However, as night fell, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing slipped to second, and as the hours ticked away, they became engaged in a battle with the No 62 Scuderia Corse Ferrari.
In the closing stages, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing were battling for second place, eventually settled for P3 behind AF Corse Ferrari instead of jeopardising the team’s chances of finishing on the podium.
“It is always great to be racing at Le Mans, and just finishing the race is an achievement in itself and being on the podium is indeed an honour,” Al Qubaisi said.
“Obviously, we are a little disappointed as we could have finished higher. Having said that, we had a good race overall but the low temperatures did affect the performance of our tyres. Nevertheless, finishing in P3 is still a big achievement for the team.
“Also, I am extremely happy with my second podium at Le Mans following my first podium at the 2014 race here.”
The team clocked 330 laps at an average speed of 206.2/kph with a best lap of 3:57.989 over the 24-hour endurance race. The team did a total of 23 pit stops.
Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing will next be in action at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring in Germany on the weekend of July 24.
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