The first 24-hour race of the year took place this past weekend with the 24H Dubai race, round two of the 24H Series. The Dubai race had more than 60 cars on the entry, including four BMWs in the GT3 classes and one in GT4. BMW teams took the overall and GT3 class win as well as the GT4 class victory.
Team WRT has an incredible record in the 24H Dubai race. In the last 10 years coming into 2026, WRT (which raced with Audi before BMW) had four wins in the event, including the overall win last year in their debut with BMW. Perhaps more amazingly, the team only failed to finish on the podium three times. The team took victory again this year to get their fifth win, with their other entry finishing second. Another BMW from Paradine Competition finished in fourth overall.
The #27 Team WRT M4 GT3 EVO on its way to a second place finish.
The BMWs didn’t look that formidable in qualifying. Like the FIA WEC series, the 24H series has three qualifying sessions, and the 10 cars with the quickest average lap time advance into a shootout. The Team WRT M4 GT3 EVO entries both made it into the shootout, but only set the fourth and seventh fastest times, with the pole going to the TFT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The #992 Paradine Competition M4 GT3 EVO qualified on the pole in the GT3 Am class. The Cerny Motorsport #445 M4 GT4 EVO qualified on pole in the GT4 class, which only had three entries.
BMW took control of the race early on. Works driver Kelvin van der Linde, who started the race in the #669 WRT M4 GT3 EVO, started fourth but went into the lead on the first lap. In the first several hours of the race, the BMW entries in the GT3 class (that consisted of a mix of pro and amateur drivers) were always running near the front as pit stops and strategy played out, but by midway through the race the WRT and Paradine BMWs were running 1-2-3-4, with the #669 WRT car in the lead.
The #991 Paradine Competition finished fourth after suffering some electrical issues.
As the race drew closer to its conclusion, it looked like BMWs would finish in the top four overall positions, but a brake disc failure in the #992 Paradine Competition car with less than 30 minutes to go resulted in a DNF. That was a heartbreaker for the team, as they were running third overall with an hour left in the race and dominating the GT3 Am class.
As the final hour of the race progressed, there was some drama as the leading #669 car was stretching its fuel to try and make it to the end ahead of the sister #27 WRT entry. Jordan Pepper, who was in his first race with BMW, managed the fuel consumption and took the checkered flag to get the victory with co-drivers Kelvin van der Linde, Ben Tuck, Fran Rueda and American driver Anthony McIntosh. “We went a bit risky with a lot of fuel saving at the end but it was good fun,” said Pepper. “My teammates have been superstars, every single one of them has done an amazing job. To win my first BMW race as a BMW works driver is a dream come true.”
Race winners (right to left) Kelvin van der Linde, Anthony McIntosh, Jordan Pepper, Fran Rueda and Ben Tuck celebrate their win.
The #27 Team WRT M4 GT3 EVO of Stanislav Minsky, Mathieu Vincent, Thomas Kiefer, Julian Hanses and Christopher Haase finished in second overall and in the GT3 class, while the #991 Paradine Competition M4 GT3 EVO of Darren Leung, James Kellett, Augusto Farfus, Jamie Alan Day and Pedro Ebrahim finished fourth overall. The #991 car was on track to finish on the podium but had an electrical issue with the traction control that set them back behind the #16 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Cerny Motorsport dominated the GT4 class with their #445 M4 GT4 EVO and drivers Ivan Krapivtsev, Florian Sternkopf, Shiv Sapra and Joshua Bednarski. There were only three entries in that class, but it’s still a big deal to finish and win a 24-hour race, and the Cerny team also took victory in the Abu Dhabi six-hour race the weekend before.
Cerny Motorsport won the GT4 class with their M4 GT4 EVO.
With the Middle East part of the schedule now over, the 24H series has five races remaining in Europe, with a 12-hour race at the Mugello circuit in Italy coming up next on March 20th-22nd. It’s not clear yet if Team WRT or Paradine Competition intend to run any more 24H races, but we’ll let you know if they do.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy 24H Series]
