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24H Dubai to be Moved to Kyalami

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Photo: Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit Creventic have announced that the Michelin 24H Dubai, which had originally been scheduled to take place at the Dubai Autodrome, has been moved to Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa. This news comes as a result of continuing conflict in the Middle East which has left Creventic unable to host its Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy over the winter months. The Dutch organization cited inflated shipping costs and uncertainly around transport planning as a core reason for the decision. It had previously confirmed that Kyalami was being assessed as a contingency if the Iran war continued. The new event will take place at Kyalami on the same weekend as previously announced (Jan. 8-10) and will be the first international 24-hour race to be held in South Africa. It will mark the first international sports car endurance race of any kind to be held at the famed 2.814 mile circuit since the last running of the Kyalami 9 Hour under SRO Motorsports ...

GetSpeed Team PCX Narrowly Grabs 24H Barcelona Pole

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Photo: RacingPixels/Creventic GetSpeed Team PCX Racing narrowly grabbed pole position for the Michelin 24H Barcelona after a post-session decision stripped Ajith RedAnt Racing of the pole. The crew of the No. 93 Ajith RedAnt Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo initially produced a combined lap time of 1:40.683 with a gap of just 0.001 seconds to the No. 28 Team PCX Mercedes-AMG in second. However, race control decided to reinstate Team PCX driver Benjamin Paque’s fastest lap from Qualifying 2, which was just enough to improve the No. 28 crew’s average time and claim pole. It had appeared as though Team PCX would sail to pole across the trio of hotly-contested GT3 qualifying sessions after Paque produced the only sub-1:40 lap time in Qualifying 2. The Belgian intially fell foul of a track limits penalty and was forced to forfeit his rapid lap, meaning it was down to Team PCX’s Maxime Martin and his fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Grenier to decide the polesitter in a nail-bitingly c...

FIA, ACO: WEC Deal Already in Place Through End of 2027

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Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI The FIA and ACO have both clarified that its partnership agreement for the FIA World Endurance Championship is already confirmed through the end of the 2027 season, with both organizations working together to ‘ensure the long-term success’ of the championship. It comes following a report published on Thursday by German publication Auto Motor und Sport which stated that a contract was not in place for next year, suggesting the FIA could even soon post a public tender for the promotion of the WEC. This information, according to both organizations, is not accurate. “The FIA World Endurance Championship has enjoyed sustained growth since the introduction of the Hypercar and LMGT3 regulations, competing this season across seven countries,” a statement from the FIA, supplied to Sportscar365, read. “This achievement is the result of extensive collaboration between drivers, teams, manufacturers, the FIA, the ACO, the promoter LMEM...

Report: FIA, ACO at Odds Over WEC Contract Extension

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Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI The FIA and ACO could go their separate ways in its current partnership with the FIA World Endurance Championship, according to a report from a leading German automotive and motorsport publication, which would have massive repercussions in sports car racing worldwide. According to a detailed report by Auto Motor und Sport , the WEC has been operating without a contract that was due to be renewed in June between the two organizations. It states that two contracts governing the cooperation between the FIA and ACO have expired, the first of which designates ACO subsidiary Le Mans Endurance Management (LMEM) as the organizer of the WEC, while the second confirms that the 24 Hours of Le Mans is part of the WEC season, with the agreements stipulating financial contributions to the FIA for world championship titles and various other obligations. In June at Le Mans, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem downplayed rumored disputes between himself and ACO Presiden...

Asian Hypercar Class in Jeopardy for 2026-27 Season

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Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI The planned launch of the Hypercar class in this winter’s Asian Le Mans Series is in jeopardy, with only two cars, and reportedly a single FIA Bronze-rated driver, having signed up for the new headline category. Sportscar365 has learned that an AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P, for Cetilar Racing’s Roberto Lacorte, as well as an entry for an Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH with a yet-to-be-determined Bronze driver, have been entered for the dubbed ‘Winter Le Mans Series’ that’s due to kick off at Paul Ricard in November. This comes despite a high level of initial interest for the new privateer class, which saw plans from BBM Sport to field up to two wingless Peugeot 9X8s, alongside as many as three Ferrari 499Ps, up to two Porsche 963s and at least one Isotta, as well as an initial expression of interest from Vanwall. However, interest levels are understood to have dropped when the calendar moved entirely to Europe , due to the Middle ...

Proton Porsche Withdraws from 24H Barcelona

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Photo: Xynamic Proton Competition have decided to withdraw from the Michelin 24H Barcelona this weekend following a biking accident for driver Jörg Dreisow. The defending Michelin 24H European Series teams’ champions will not compete in the season finale, effectively ending the team’s bid to retain its title. The No. 73 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo currently sits 22 points adrift of championship leaders GetSpeed Team JR286 in the overall standings, and holds a narrow second place in the GT3 Pro-Am points table. The Proton squad celebrated a class victory in the event last year. Despite taking class wins in both the 12H Spa and the 12H Nürburgring earlier this year, the German squad were yet to take an overall victory this season. Dreisow was expected to contest the 24-hour endurance race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya alongside Lucas Wolf, Manuel Lauck and Porsche-contracted driver Joel Sturm. “For us as defending champions in the 24H Series, it was a very difficult d...

Ohta Braced for Crucial Sugo Round for Honda Title Hopes

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Photo: Honda ARTA Honda driver Kaku Ohta has acknowledged closing the points deficit to Toyota and TOM’S in this weekend’s Sugo round will be vital for his title aspirations. Ohta, who shares the works-backed No. 8 Honda HRC Prelude-GT with Hiroki Otsu, faces a 23-point disadvantage at the halfway point of a campaign that remains at eight races with the addition of a second race for the Motegi double-header in November. He and Otsu are coming off the back of consecutive podium finishes, finishing second from pole in Fuji in August and third last time out at Suzuka after Honda made a major leap forward with its new Prelude-GT in the aftermath of a troubled first two races. ARTA’s sister No. 16 car of Tomoki Nojiri and Ren Sato took the win at Suzuka, leading a podium lockout for Honda at its home venue . Although the No. 8 Honda is laden with a fuel flow restrictor for the first time this year at Sugo as part of a 54 kg handicap, Ohta says that beating No. 36 TOM...