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Dubai Autodrome and its 5.4 km long track hosts in the middle of January the traditional 24 hours endurance race. The philosophy of the event is teamwork, adrenalin, experience and to offer one of the most demanding races of the season not only to the professional teams and drivers but it also gives access to semi-professional teams and drivers. The preliminary entry list includes 84 cars and 350 drivers. There are established names like Peter Kox, Augusto Farfus, brothers Leo and Greg Mansell’s, Tommy Miller or Ralf Schumacher’s wife Cora. The pentad of Czech drivers Tomáš Enge, Jarek Janiš, Petr Charouz, Jakub Knoll and Jan Šťovíček join this company.

Tomáš Enge will race for the Gravity Racing International team with a Mosler MT 900 GT3 car belonging to SP2 class. The Czech driver will share the American car with Gerard Lopez, the director of the Lotus Renault GP, Eric Lux executive director Genii Capital, Loris de Sordi and Vincent Radermecker. Tomáš Enge drove at Dubai track in 2005 in the A1GP championship when he scored 3rd palce for the Czech team. „Winter break was really short this year but at least I will keep rhythm. The car should belong to the better ones in the field but we will see how we cope as the whole  crew. I am definitely looking forward to Dubai. I will take the race as a practice and I would like to see the finish line,“ says Tomáš Enge.

Jarek Janiš did his last 24 hours race at Le Mans in 2009 when he took great 5th place in the GT2 class with the factory Spyker Squadron team. The Czech will race in Dubai for the Austrian Jetalliance Racing team with Porsche 997 Cup car. Jarek will share the car with Lukas-Lichtner Hoyer, Vitus Eckert, Oskar Slingerland and Martin Rich. The Czech driver knows Dubai from 2006 when he raced in the FIA GT championship. „It is a great race with good atmosphere. Our first aim is to finish the race. I am glad that I got another chance from Lukas-Lichtner Hoyer to race for his team. Actually, I raced for them in the last race of the FIA GT championship 2006 at Dubai and thanks to this race I secured 3rd place in the final standings,“ recalls Jarek Janiš and continues. „The circuit is in the middle of a desert and sand is everywhere. The ideal line is normally clean but when you have to move from it, during overtaking for example, it can be dangerous. No less than 84 cars are entered to the race, traffic will be therefore high and there will be a lot of overtaking.“

Number 24 will be driven by three Czechs Petr Charouz, Jakub Knoll and Jan Šťovíček. They will be joined by Austrians Dominik Baumann and Gerhard Tweraser in the German Rhino´s Leipert team that entered Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of the A6 class. Both Petr Charouz and Jan Šťovíček know the car from Czech championship races. Jakub Knoll tried the car with the Bull in the badge for the first time during the six hours race last autumn at Brno. „It is going to be my first 24 hours race in my life. I worked on my fitness during the winter, I trained together with Jarek and my brother Jan. I know Dubai’s circuit only from the computer and I am looking forward to get the real feeling. I do not know what to expect, everything will be ne to me. First of all I want to se the checquered flag,“  says Petr Charouz.

Also Jakub Knoll does not have any experience with such a long endurance race as he switched from single-seaters to Lamborghini GT car at the end of last year. “It is going to be my first 24 hours race but I have been preparing in the same way like to any other race. I am still getting used to the Lamborghini GT3. Transition from a single-seater to a GT car is not an easy one. I raced the car for the first at during Epilog at Brno and I think that I improved with each lap. I do not know Dubai’s circuit, so I will see there how it is. My priority is to finish the race, not to do any mistake and put in consistent lap times,”  says Jakub Knoll.

“I am looking forward to race at Dubai and I consider it as a preparation for a new season and, of course, to gain another experience. I know only Petr personally, other team-mates I know only from media and I must say that I like our line-up. I have always been a fan of young talents in motorsport and this must be the youngest team in the whole field. On the other hand all of them are already experienced and they are fast. The aim of the team, to be in the top ten, is therefore realistic one,” assesses team’s ambitions Jan Šťovíček and adds. “I have no idea how I will cope with 24 hours race. Whether I will have enough stamina for the whole duration. It is going to be like probe in the fight.  However, if it is good and I like it then I will take on Le Mans sooner or later.”

The official program of the Dunlop 24h Dubai starts on Thursday with first practice. Another practice and qualifying are also scheduled on the same day. Friday’s running start with 30 minutes warm up and the race itself gets green light at 2pm.


PHOTOGALLERY
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Race start - 24h Dubai 2010
Photo: 24hdubai.com


Jarek Janiš in Dubai - FIA GT Championship 2006
Photo: racealliance.at


Charouz, Knoll & Šťovíček
Photo: leipert-motorsport.de

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