Dubai Entry News
Complete List Not Available Yet

It’s Dubai and the final two races of the FIA GT3 Championship this week (scrutineering starts today, the races are on Friday and Saturday), and although a final entry list is not yet available, we do know that Apex and Muehlner Motorsport will both have two cars present – Jaguars for the British team, Porsches for the Belgians.

The title contenders won’t be missing this one, of course, so that means Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier, in the #1 Martini Callaway Corvette Z.06R GT3 (an eight point lead), Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch, in the #20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT, Thomas Accary and Pierre-Brice Mena, in the No.10 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9 and finally Bradley Ellis in the #21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT.

The top of the points table looks like this:

1 Arnaud Peyroles 2 8 6 8 5 5 10 44
James Ruffier 2 8 6 8 5 5 10 44
2 Ian Khan 10 10 6 10 36
Thomas Mutsch 10 10 6 10 36
3 Thomas Accary 4 8 8 10 5 35
Pierre-Brice Mena 4 8 8 10 5 35
Bradley Ellis 2 10 10 2 5 6 35
4 Alex Mortimer 10 10 2 5 6 33

Alex Mortimer shares with Ellis, so can’t win the title – although the two drivers have agreed to share the prize. No one else is in contention, the rest not having bettered 22 points thus far.

“Dubai is a great track and with two long straights the pace is going to be really quick,” says 2007 British Champion Bradley Ellis. “Although I raced here in the Viper last year, my first time out in the Matech Ford GT (at Dubai) will be during practice on Wednesday so I’ll need to get acclimatised. The Ford GT should handle brilliantly around the Dubai Autodrome track, but we will have to see if the restrictions that we are still carrying hold us back on the straights. Hopefully we won’t lose out too much, although straight-line speed will be a key factor here.

“We went to the final round of the British GT Championship last year eight points behind, and we won that, so it can definitely be done.”

Apex Motorsport completes its traumatic season with Jaguars for Robert Hissom / Phil Quaife and Chris Dymond / Stuart hall. The long straight will suit the supercharged XKRs, which shone way back in April at a gloomy Silverstone.

The Belgian Porsches will be raced by Mark Thomas / Frank Schmickler and Jaromar Jirik and none other than Marc Basseng. The latter was part of the team’s G3 class win at the Spa 24 Hours (with Mark Thomas, among others).