Dunlop Dubai 24 Hours – Hour 5 Report
Code 60

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With four hours having elapsed, and with the light fading rapidly, Edward Sandström has just pitted from the lead in the #1 Saudi Falcons/Schubert Z4. But the most significant news is that the fifth hour opens with the race’s first Code 60.

18:00 Jordan Grogor has just served a lengthy stop/go penalty – for what, we do not know – but the Code 60 means he has probably not lost any time.

18:03 The cause appears to be the #105 GC10-V8, which was recovered on the back of a tow-truck from Turn 12.

18:09 Green.

The #3 Black Falcon Merc pits as the Code 60 ends; Jeroen Bleekemolen later tweets that this was a tactical error and that it has cost the team at least five minutes.

18:20 Smoke is seen trailing from the back of the #2 AF Corse Ferrari. Niki Cadei has just taken over.

18:24 The #100 Nissan R370Z is pushed into the garage as the SP3-leading Marcos Racing Lotus is slowly recovered to the pits. The rear left wheel is clearly deranged, indicating a major suspension failure. This won’t be quickly fixed.

18:30 Claudia Hürtgen leads by 80 seconds from Bernd Schneider.  The top five is now BMW (#1), Merc (#6), Merc (#16), Merc (#3) and Porsche (#18). Of the earlier leaders, Nico Pronk has just pitted the #25 Reiter Lambo from sixth, while Leon Price is in the #12 Ferrari in seventh.  The AF Corse Ferrari’s problem looks to have been a loose undertray and Niki Cadei has brought the car in for a stop to get it sorted. The team manager, meanwhile, has been summoned to the Race Director. This drops the car down to 16th once again.

The view from the commentary box shows headlights everywhere you look – not just the 60-odd cars out on track, but the very busy road behind the circuit; it’s not easy to determine which is which at times.

18:43 Remarkably, the Lotus is back on pit apron and heading towards the refuelling bay! The car has dropped down into the 40s to ninth in SP3, but not far behind the equally delayed #116 Optimum Ginetta.

The class leaders at 18:50 are:

A6 - #1
SP2 - #27
997 - #43
SP3 - #54
A2 - #81
A5 – #50

However, the #27 VDS Mustang is in the pit garage and likely to lose its lead.

18:56 The two Ferraris look set to lock horns again soon. The #12 AUH 458 in 12th place leads the #2 AF Corse car by 38 seconds. Charlie Hollings is in the ‘local’ Ferrari, but Niki Cadei is lapping quicker.

As the hour ends, the leader has completed 134 laps and four cars are on the lead lap.