Mercedes-AMG takes Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours pole
- Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing earned pole position for the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours for the second consecutive year after an intense qualifying session at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
A strong grid, in GT3 cars from Audi, BMW, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche, participated in four 15-minute qualifying sessions under lights on a warm Abu Dhabi evening at Yas Marina Circuit to decide the starting grid for Sunday’s 12-hour race.
Every driver participates in one qualifying session, and the consolidated lap time for each car is determined by the combined average of each driver’s fastest lap.
The #99 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Maro Engel, Luca Stolz and Mikael Grenier was the fastest car on the night, recording a four-lap average of 1min 51.272secs.
Engel said: “It’s great to be on pole. Thanks to the team. It’s great for Mercedes-AMG to have a one-two. We do know we have had a few of these pole positions throughout the year and the race has been another beast so we will focus on the race. It will be a tough race and we will give it everything.
Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing’s other car, the #77 of Lucas Auer, Lorenzo Ferrari and Frankie Bird, was fifth overall. The #88 Garage 59 McLaren 720 GT3 EVO, in the hands of Alexander West, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Louis Prette was second in Pro-Am, sixth overall.
