DUBAI // Sleep deprivation comes with the territory for 24-hour racing drivers. A little bit of fatigue is rarely likely to stop the successful ones from having a party to celebrate their glories, especially if they have just landed their maiden title in the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai. But if tiredness does not put a dampener on the party, a 1am flight back home will. Patrick Pilet was due to land in his native France this morning with a feeling of satisfaction, as well as a collection of handsome trophies following his triumphant weekend in the UAE.
Pilet's three-man IMSA Performance Matmut team finished victorious at the Dubai Autodrome, three laps ahead of Petronas Syntium. The Saudi car of Al Faisal Racing finished third. However, celebrations were restricted to a rousing rendition of La Marseillaise on the podium immediately after, plus a pit-side youla performance from a traditional Emirati dance troupe. Pilet said: "Unfortunately I can't make the party. And I won't be partying on the plane - I'm planning to sleep."
In the build-up to the race, Pilet had honed his course knowledge while virtual racing round the Dubai track on a computer game. It did the trick, and the team completed 608 laps of the 5.39km circuit during the 24 hours. Marco Holzer, Pilet's co-driver, added: "It was unbelievable. The last three, four or five laps are really difficult. You hear everything in the car and you want to drag it over the start-finish line. It was a great feeling. It is a nervous feeling waiting and waiting, but in the end it was perfect."
Raymond Narac, the third driver, had finished 15th in Dubai last year, before swapping to the Porsche of the IMSA team this season. He said: "The fact we have won the race on our debut is an outstanding achievement." The all-Emirati team, Lap 57, completed 341 laps, but they were happy with their efforts. Their BMW had to have its gearbox rebuilt but their driver, Umair Khan, managed to finish in 55th place.
"We only built the car three days ago so we didn't have time to test it. The things we were worried about didn't break but the things we were not worried about did," he said. "We were hoping to get on the podium but although we didn't achieve that we are tremendously happy just to finish," said the team manager, Mohammed al Bannai. * Additional reporting by Michael Kelley
