A Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM celebrated victory in the 12 Hours of Gulf race on Sunday, in which Jules Gounon became the champion of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) after finishing in third place.
The Yas Marina race had several strong incidents and neutralizations, with strategy also playing a key role in the outcome. Luca Stolz, Maro Engel, and Mikael Grenier started from pole position in the Mercedes #99 and achieved the triumph, but it was far from a lead from start to finish.
One of the key moments occurred about three and a half hours before the end. At that time, Valentino Rossi (Team WRT/BMW #46) was in the lead – in the only car from the Belgian team in the fight, as the other had suffered exhaust problems. During the driver change in which the MotoGP legend handed the wheel to Nick Yelloly, the pedal box broke, causing the operation to take longer.
GruppeM did not waste the opportunity and took the lead. During his stint, Vanthoor managed to get close to the lead, but he received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. Engel managed to cross the finish line 12.811s ahead of Vanthoor, sealing the victory alongside Grenier and Stolz. Rossi and Yelloly were with Vanthoor.
Third place went to 2 Seas Motorsport, with the Mercedes #14. Behind the wheel were Fabian Schiller, Maximilian Götz, and Gounon – the latter secured the IGTC driver’s title. His main rival was Philipp Eng, whose BMW, which he shared with Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde, finished 16th after exhaust problems.
The top five was completed by the Car Collection Motorsport Porsche #21, in which Constantin Dressler, Dustin Blattner, and Juoel Sturm won in the Am class – with the second-placed Mercedes #3 from 2 Seas Motorsport finishing ninth overall. In sixth place was the Optimum Motorsport McLaren #27 with Mark Radcliffe, Ollie Millroy, and Rob Bell, winning in Pro-Am 54.192s ahead of the Kessell Racing Ferrari #11.
