Dubai 24 Hours - Hours 4-5-6
More Dramas
Janos Wimpffen

Another Code 60 during hour 4 sends the race into Grand-Amian proportions. Some news from down the order, the No. 7 First Motorsport Porsche is not quite last in A6 but is in the garage having the rear shaft replaced after Thierry Blaise had the tire explode under him.

The order is now Proton (No. 31), ProSpeed (No. 3), and Oktanas (No. 17), as the No. 39 VIP Porsche has dropped two laps, badly victimized by pit hassles during the Code Purple period. The Aussies were also penalized for breaking the Code.

It is important to note that fueling here is done at a central location just past the normal pit lane. The actual pits are for servicing only. Thus, it is easy to get caught out of sequence during the various interruptions.

SP1 has changed with the No. 107 Verschur Renault losing time in an incident with another car. The No. 104 Megane Trophy has moved to the ore. The No. 77 Renault is atop A2 after the No. 71 Honda was delayed. One of the Renault’s drivers is Sheik A- Maktoum, nephew of the Emir of Dubai. Punt him off course and your passport will suddenly vanish.

The No. 107’s “little” accident wasn’t so small to the following car. Lars Erik Nielsen came up behind it and got caught in the incident. The blue Porsche ended up rolling, converting some of the Proton’s mass into energy. The likable Dane emerged with nothing more than a sore shoulder.

"I was coming through turn two and a pair of slower cars came together in front of me. It was a relatively slow corner, about 150kph, but I had to take evasive action and got caught up in the soft sand and the car rolled. It's very unfortunate because we had almost three laps lead and our pace was strong but conservative.

"It's a full time job dealing with slower traffic and believe me there is plenty of it. I think we pass between 15 and 20 cars every lap."

The Singapore Porsche Club entry is going quite well after mistiming a stop. Like so many others, they called at the pits only to have a non-safety car interruption soon thereafter. Malaysian driver Tunku Hammam Sulong clawed back after the delay, and the team is in steady contention. Choo Kwok Ming, aka “Melvin” is now driving.

The No. 78 Renault is still in the race, although it spent most of the afternoon having its suspension redesigned. The car was built for running with road type tires and the racing slicks have caused havoc from the moment that the Clio took to the track. The team has been working on it back by the shipping containers in the paddock. The activity illustrates another unusual facet of this part of the world.

Native citizens of the UAE rule the country but are a distinct minority. They are evident by the graceful kaffiyahs worn by the men. Next on the social order come the average Arabs. Most have immigrated from elsewhere in west Asia and North Africa. At the bottom are the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who perform all the menial tasks. Whenever one drops something on the ground here or using the toilet facilities, a little brown man appears and cleans up after you. Thus it is in the paddock. Every time one of the English crew members chips off some shavings from the No. 78 Clio, a man comes over with a broom and tidies up under the jacks and around the tools.

The Konrad Porsche retired after its second gearbox failure, but not before Jeroen Bleekemolen set the race’s fastest lap. The No. 17 Oktanas Porsche has gone off—bringing out a Code 60, and scuttling the team’s excellent run.

Joe Macari has had an accident in the Ferrari, causing about a half-hour’s worth of radiator damage. The No. 93 Marcos team BMW has had electrical problems while the No. 21 Porsche (Team RPM) is in for a clutch rebuild.

The No. 39 VIP Porsche moved to the front at about the five-hour mark with the No. 105 Renault Thing reaching an exalted second overall. The No. 3 ProSpeed Porsche has had to be repaired after an accident caused some steering problems. Another Porsche in trouble, the No. 10 Bergh entry, has had its left rear corner rebuilt.

More oddities—apart from the single video perspective there is no information forthcoming whatsoever—no press notes—nada. So I got excited when I passed through a neighboring office and saw a live TV feed. I had trouble following the wretched non-commentary, but there was something else not right. It took a minute or so to realize that it was a tape of last year’s race.

More tidbits—the No. 38 KRS Racing Porsche is having gearbox and halfshaft problems. The orange Lammertink Porsche has been towed in with a quiet motor. The No. 42 Duwo BMW lost 20 minutes with gearbox woes. The big Audi has been in the garage for long time. The crew is troubleshooting an electrical problem in the gearbox. The other VIP Porsche, No. 40, is going well apart from a delay to replace a fan belt. The No. 16 VDS entry is another Porsche to suffer gearbox maladies.

On the Hungarian front the No. 51 Seat has a broken steering rack. The No. 50 is the better of the pair despite it having been through an all-night work party.

After 6 hours the No. 39 Porsche continues to lead by two laps over the No. 105 Renault Megane Trophy thing. The only other healthy Porsche in the neighborhood is the No. 14 Jetalliance entry—in third overall. Four places and three classes as the once delayed No. 48 A5 class BMW is up to fourth. One of the Schubert BMWs has faltered and its teammate, No. 100, has taken over the diesel lead in 26th overall. The No. 61 Bas Koeten BMW Z Coupe has A4 for much of the race from the high 20s overall. The RP Dom Renault continues to go well in A2. There is a change in A1 as the Leipert Fiesta may be ending and the No. 83 Ebbing Ford has taken over the class lead.

Link to positions every hour