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14th Jan 2008
Team VIP Petfoods decision to make the journey to Dubai to compete in the TOYO TYRES 24H endurance race was a resounding success, with the team taking first place and putting the factory teams on notice that the private team from down under has a taste for world class endurance racing.
The 24H endurance classic ran across the 10th, 11th and 12th of January with practice, qualifying and the actual race event rounding out an action packed weekend and marking VIP Racing's best international performance to date.
After being the fastest team in qualifying and leading the race from the sixth hour onwards our team of Tony Quinn, Klark Quinn, Craig Baird and Jonathan Webb raced the new Porsche 997 GT3 RSR to victory in the third edition of the TOYO TIRES 24H of Dubai.
In a race marked by highly changeable weather conditions with torrential rain storms the team dominated the field in the 24-hour race at the 5.4 kilometres long Dubai Autodrome.
Prior to the race, weather was expected to play a major role in the outcome of the race with a high probability of rainfall during the event. It remained dry in the opening quarter of the race, but after around seven hours of racing the heavens opened with the first of numerous heavy downpours, that had their effect on the race especially during the nightly hours.
Many times, the clerk of the course had to use the so-called “code 60 rule” (a maximum speed of 60 kph for all competitors on the track) when stationary cars had to be recovered from dangerous places or when visibility and driving conditions were too bad to continue the race at normal speed.
After claiming pole position in the closing stages of a highly entertaining qualifying session, the VIP Pet Foods team was able to take the lead during the sixth hour of the race before driving on to an undisputed overall victory.
Quoted after the race by the press in Dubai, Tony made the following statement:
“We didn’t expect to be able to reach such a result, but after qualifying, we knew that we were quick here. We were well prepared for the rain after the few races in Europe in which we have participated. Whether or not we will be racing in the other races of the 24H SERIES, depends on how much pet foods we can sell.”
The team at VIP Petfoods and VIP Racing are very proud of what the boys were able to achieve in Dubai and look forward to their continued success on the world stage.
