Gulf 12 Hours: Top ten qualifying grid spot for I.S.R. Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher

The Gulf 12 Hours is taking place at Yas Marina this weekend. Friday saw the first two practice sessions and qualifying during the course of the day.

Both Absolute Racing and I.S.R. Racing are each fielding one Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The Absolute Racing squad's #17 R8 LMS ultra is being driven by Sun Jing Zu, Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung. During the two practice sessions they placed eighth and seventeenth, fifth and tenth respectively in the Pro-Am GT3 class.

I.S.R Racing set the twelve and ninth fastest during the practice sessions, which was enough for seventh and fifth in class. Their #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra has Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik behind the wheel.

The qualifying sessions were held later on Friday. Four sessions were held with an average being taken of the up to four drivers per car. The combined classification revealed that one of the Audi Sport customer teams had made it into the overall top ten. I.S.R. Racing from the Czech Republic qualified ninth on the grid, taking fifth in the Pro-Am GT3 class. Absolute Racing qualified fourteenth overall, eighth in class.

The race itself will be held in two parts on Saturday. The first six hour segment will be getting underway at 09:00 local time in Abu Dhabi, followed by part two at 18:00. We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Photo credit: Gulf 12 Hours