After nine hours, the Amateurs stilled played a role in the Dunlop Dubai 24 Hours, but the pros were closing fast.
A6 Pro driver Jörg Müller in the #24 Saudi Falcons Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3 had the lead by a solid 57 seconds over the A6 Am Stadler Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 R of Adrian Amstutz. The Stadler Porsche, after fighting hard to hold the lead, aided by fortuitous Code Sixties, finally had to give way to the faster pro team.
A strategy error hurt the #20; a quick Code Sixty just before ten p.m. local caught the team off guard. The Stadler Porsche came in to the pits just as the green flag waved, which cost the car the time it took to refuel.
Third came another A6 Am car, the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Jordan Grogor, one lap down and right in the sights of the fourth-place Abu Dhabi Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 piloted by Bernd Schneider.
Ten minutes past 11 p.m. local, Schneider passed Grogor to move into third. Judging by the speed of the Black Falcon and the Stadler Porsche, it seems likely the race will eventually come down to a Mercedes—BMW battle—depending on further Code Sixties, further incidents, and reliability issues.
