DUBAI // More than 90 cars of various shapes and speeds, all dodging and weaving and trying to overtake, all desperate to avoid a collision, but all willing to take a risk should it mean they reach their destination that little bit quicker, were crammed into a 5.4-kilometre stretch of road.
Last night, Dubai Autodrome made Sheikh Zayed Road at rush hour look more like a parkway of politeness as qualifying for the city’s annual 24 Hour Race began.
It was testament to the talents of the 400 or so racing drivers that the circuit remained safer than several of the asphalt arteries winding through the Emirates.
The Autodrome was refreshingly untroubled yesterday.
There were a few shunts and bumps and even a couple of bigger smashes during the six hours and 15 minutes the cars were on track, but endurance racing is by its nature a war of attrition.
Today’s race will feature a record entry field of 95 cars, yet there was no reckless driving last night.
Instead, there was just discipline, respect and a relentless will to safely post the fastest time possible – Porsche 997s passed Volkswagen Golfs passed Ferrari 458s passed Seat Leons passed Lamborghini Gallardos passed Mini Coopers.
Austrian Martin Ragginger, behind the wheel of a 4,000cc Porsche 997 GT3 R and representing Fach Auto Tech, clocked the fastest lap of the day of one minute, 57.562 seconds to have his Swiss team starting on pole position.
He said, though, that his biggest challenge had not been driving competently at speeds in excess of 165kph, but rather “finding the balance between being aggressive and being careful in the traffic”.
“With so many cars, it is not easy, but with respect and rhythm it is not a problem,” Ragginger said.
“Everybody wants a good lap time, but for that you have to be careful in the traffic and read it correctly – otherwise you may have a very short race.”
One of Ragginger’s three teammates at Fach Auto Tech is Sven Muller, a 22-year-old German who is making his 24-hour debut.
He received the nod to replace Connor de Phillippi only last month when the American confirmed he would instead contest the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
“It is my first time racing 24 hours and my first time here in Dubai, so starting on pole is not bad,” Muller said.
“It is difficult because with more than 90 cars you have so much traffic and must try to avoid damage to the car. You must be very consistent every lap. That is our goal now because if you destroy the car earlier, you will obviously be finished earlier.”
Rob Barff, an Englishman competing with Dragon Racing, said because the speed difference throughout the field was so large – more than 65kph separated the fastest and slowest cars in the morning practice session – it was incredibly difficult to post a clean lap, but “everyone is in their own fight, so you have to respect that”.
Mercedes, with 12 cars in the field, had arrived this week as the favourites, but while they secured six of the top 10 positions on today’s grid, their Black Falcon 2 missed out on pole by 0.322 seconds.
Last year’s winning team, Stadler Motorsport, were third fastest taking their Porsche around in 1:58.096, while the much-fancied two-times winners Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon struggled amid traffic and will start from sixth.
“It is a long race and we are well positioned for the start,” said Khaled Al Qubaisi, the team’s Emirati driver.
“We have a very strong team and the goal is to win the race for a third time. Of course, there is pressure because it’s our home race, but I’m confident we can push for victory.”
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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