Dunlop 24h Dubai
January 13th – 15th, 2011
 

At the beginning of the year the Dubai Autodrome (5.39 km) at the Persian Gulf adorned itself with dream sports cars and participants from all over the world for the sixth time.

Christopher Haase used his first chance to take part in the 24h spectacle in Dubai. However, he remained an onlooker during the race.
 

Shortly before the practice sessions Besaplast Racing Team decided not to use the fast GT pilot Christopher Haase (GER) in the Mini Cooper but to add him to the team for the BMW M3 E46 (class SP2). Haase’s partners in the E46 were Franjo Kovac (GER), Jörg Hardt (GER), Sebastian Asch (GER) and Frank Schmickler (GER).
In the Porsche 997 Cup (class 997) Haase shared the car with Roland Asch (GER), Martin Tschornia (GER), Sebastian Asch (GER) and Kurt Thiim (DNK).

However, Christopher Haase (23) did not get a chance to race. There were technical problems with the Besaplast BMW during the free practice session. Jörg Hardt qualified the car in Q1 in the 35th place (2:09.982). After Hardt’s start stint, a short stint from Schmickler, five pit stops and only 37 driven laps the disappointing diagnosis was: “We stay in the pit”.
 

“I thought it was very unfortunate but after the initial technical problems there were problems again and again which forced us to retire from the race”, says Christopher Haase.

Besaplast Racing Team’s Porsche 997 Cup did not get a chance to drive across the finish line either. The team had promising prospects after having qualified in P29 in Q3 (2:07.794) in the overall standings and in P2 in their class (997). “I drove a Cup Porsche for the very first time in the free practice session. The difference to the GT car is the aerodynamics. The downforce is much higher with the GT. After a few laps I got used to it and it was fine”, explains Haase.

Roland Asch started in the Porsche for the long-distance race in Dubai and was touched by a competing car. He was stopped shortly because of spinning. The crew quickly checked the car in the pit and did some makeshift repairs on the outside of the car. Sebastian Asch took over and did not report any defects after his stint. Danish pilot Kurt Thiim got into the cockpit but came back into the pit after 30 minutes because of technical problems. Long-term defects from the crash probably caused the failure after 79 driven laps.

“We definitely had higher expectations with the Porsche. Our initial position was good, we had a great setup und the team of drivers was ideal. Even though I did not get a chance to race it was fun working with the pilots and the team and I am looking forward to the start of the season”, says Christopher Haase.

mmr/motioncompany