REPORT: 6h Abu Dhabi & 24h Dubai

5 februari 2024

Haas RT

Our report as the dual header in the desert comes to an end.

Reports

The dusty desert dual header in the Middle East comes to an end. The first 2 races of our season were the 6h Abu Dhabi and the postponed 24h Dubai, the latter being a special event for the entire team.

6h Abu Dhabi:

We start with the 6h Abu Dhabi race at the Yas Marina circuit. At the wheel of the #21, we find HaasRT regular Mathieu Detry, who was joined by Stanislav Minsky, Torsten Kratz and Thomas Kiefer.

The team set out to prove that last year's championship was no fluke. Grabbing pole position in Saturday's qualifying would be the most unequivocal way to do so, which was turned into reality by Torsten, Thomas and Mathieu.

Race day arrives on Sunday. While we got off to a good start, code 60 calamities in the second half of the race would prove costly to our strategy.

Narrowly missing out on a class podium is a disappointing result for the entire team. However, any doubts about the pace were now long gone. Plenty of positives to look forward to for the big one in Dubai.

24h Dubai:

Looking to mark the occasion on our return to Dubai, the team set out with a 2 car entry to fight for glory. Sadly, the #20 endured damage in an early test session, ending their hopes in an instant.

Left to fight for glory alone, the #21 kept the same 4 drivers from a week earlier, a strong lineup being reinforced by another HaasRT regular: Miika Panu. Qualifying again proved to be a strong point, with Torsten, Thomas and Mathieu placing the car 3rd on the grid, being 1st in class.

The race got off to a good start, with Mathieu staying in the top 3. The following hours were very promising until contact from another car left us needing repairs. Quick work by our mechanics kept our timeloss to a minimum, however the damage was done. All that was left now was to fight for class honours.

Late-race rain caused chaos, but Miika's sublime car control, a brilliant wet-to-slick strategy call by our engineers and a superb pitstop by our ultra-fast and reliable pit crew left us within the grasp of 2nd place in class. Unfortunately, this wouldn't prove enough and we had to settle with 3rd in class.

2 challenging weeks for the team, but plenty of positives to take. While our hard work was left unrewarded, we once again proved to have the pace to fight at the top. Now preparations get underway as we set out to defend our European Championship crown.

See you in Mugello for the start of the European season!