DRAGON RACING – FEBRUARY 2023
DUBAI 24 HOUR GT4 CLASS WINNERS
15th January 2023, ROFGO with Dragon Racing secure another class win at the Hankook 24H DUBAI!
For the second year running the #408 AMG GT4 took the top step of the GT4 class at the Dubai 24 Hours with a commanding win.
This incredible endurance race, held annually at the Dubai Autodrome, has become our favourite home race where we have won 5 times in the 10 years we have entered.
This year though, it was slightly more special – being the celebration 10 years of Dragon Racing and the entry of 2 Dragon Racing AMG GT4 cars.
The event got underway on Wednesday with a wonderful parade through Motor City where the fans could get up close and personal with the drivers and cars, as the parade of 50 race cars took a tour from the circuit to the local neighbourhood.
With many fans coming along to cheer us on, it was a great opportunity to hand out autographs and grab selfies with the local racing community.
During the build up to the race unfortunately the #488 Dragon Racing AMG GT4 had to withdraw from the event, due to chassis damage from an unfortunate accident in the second test session.
The #408 crew were left to fly the flag for Dragon Racing and the ROFGO team consisting of Roald Goethe, Benjamin Goethe, Oliver Goethe, Stuart Hall and Jordan Grogor soon set about preparations for this gruelling 24 hour race.
The team rallied together and set an amazing combined lap time to secure Pole Position in the GT4 class.
The lights went out at 15:00 on Saturday 14th January, and from then on and until the final lap the #408 AMG GT4 was rarely not leading the class.
6hrs car #408 was placed into a spin by the Team WRT BMW M4 driven by MOTO GP Star Valentino Rossi when entering the final corner and ended up off the track with only minor bodywork scratches. It was only when the GT4 was rejoining the track that an unsighted Team Sorg Rensport Porsche 718 GT4 made heavy contact with the passenger side door causing the driver to box on the following lap for a drive-by inspection. To the relief of the entire team, the damage caused did not require repair nor did it affect the performance of the car, a lucky escape so early on in the race.
From here on in it was consistent lap times and smart strategy and fast pit stops that would decide the race winner!
Following a long night of 12 hours of darkness the #408 had pulled out a 3 lap lead over the rivals as dawn broke the team were flying setting fastest lap with the cold air and cooler track temperatures.
With 4 hours to go a routine front brake pad change was completed in under 60 seconds and the car was back on the circuit pulling away from 2nd place.
As the clock struck 15:00 on Sunday afternoon the #408 had completed 26 pit stops, 566 laps and pulled out a 4 lap lead over the second place BMW M4 GT4.
“To come back and defend a 24 Hour race win is always a difficult task, there is so many variables – traffic, drivers consistency, strategy, pitstops and most importantly the car reliability. So to win this great race 2 years in a row is a real achievement.” Commented Dragon Racing CEO Brad Fincham
What a wonderful achievement for Roald, Benji and Oli to win this race as a family. The #408 AMG GT4 is now on route to join some of the worlds most famous cars in the ROFGO collection.
