Promising debuts shape weekend in Dubai

Proton Competition’s trip to Dubai for the first of two race weekends in the United Arab Emirates proved a success. Two new faces joined the squad for the third and fourth rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series and quickly made their mark.

It was a weekend of firsts for Stefan Aust as the German made his debut with Proton Competition and savoured his first outing in LMP2 machinery in the #22 Oreca 07 together with Jonas Ried and Felipe Laser.

“It was a little challenging at the start, but by Friday the car felt great, and only got better as the weekend went on,” said Aust. “Race two was so much fun, and I managed to move up three places during my opening stint. I would like to thank the whole Proton Competition team for backing me and giving me this opportunity, and it feels great that I was able to get back behind the wheel here in Dubai.”

Christian and Michael Ried team’s second debutant at Dubai Autodrome was young Dutchman Huub van Eijndhoven in the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, driving alongside Bankcy and Harry King. “It was my first time racing in the Asian Le Mans Series and only my second GT3 race in my career,” van Eijndhoven said. “It’s a steep learning curve but I am definitely learning from the best in Harry. It was a challenging weekend, but we improved every session, so I think it’s important to focus on the positives.”

Stand-out performers in Dubai were Horst Felbermayr Jr., Horst Felix Felbermayr and Lorenzo Fluxá in the #88 Oreca 07. The trio set the tone early in the weekend with an excellent qualifying performance, securing two second-row starts. That form carried into race one, where they claimed a strong top-10 finish.

Race two also began promisingly, with the #88 running inside the top 3 before a tyre issue forced an unscheduled pit stop and curtailed their progress. “Our pace was outstanding this weekend, but we were really unlucky during both races,” said Felbermayr Jr. “On Saturday our strategy didn’t quite work out, while on Sunday we suffered a damaged tyre. Now we are looking ahead to the season finale.”

The team won’t have long to wait before their next opportunity to score points and shoot for podiums, with Yas Marina Circuit playing host to the final two races of the season on the weekend of 7 to 8 February.

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Copyright: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)