The ninth edition of the Gulf 12 Hours will take place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday 14 December 2019, and will be based on a totally new team entry procedure.
The starting grid will be capped at 32 cars, one car less than the number that competed in the 2018 edition.
Registration will open in February 2019, with a preliminary entry list of 28 cars published by the end of March. Invited teams will be requested to confirm their entry by the end of April. Each team may apply to enter a maximum of 3 cars on the grid.
Teams who are not included in the preliminary 28-car entry list will be added to a waiting list and will be accepted upon any cancellations from May onwards.
The aim of the promoters is to publish the final entry list at least 6 months before the race event, at the beginning of June 2019.
The remaining 4 entries, to complete the 32-car grid, will be reserved for special projects such as the launch of new cars, and will be assigned later in the year.
Priority will be given to those teams who have entered cars in previous editions of the Gulf 12 Hours, as well as those who have taken part in the 2018-2019 season of the Gulf Sportscar Championship.
Full team information will be published in January, including the list of permitted cars and drivers’categorisation.
Andrea Ficarelli, promoter of the Gulf 12 Hours, said: « Further to the great success of this year’s Gulf 12 Hours (that attracted 33 high-end cars and hosted the competitive debut of three new models, Aston Martin, Audi and McLaren) we decided to focus on quality versus quantity in order to provide an efficient use of Yas Marina Circuit’s garage space and enhanced first-class experience to all teams and drivers taking part in our event.
« The new entry process should allow us to publish the preliminary entry list of the 9th Gulf 12 Hours well in advance, at least 6 months before the race. The new procedure is designed to reward teams and drivers that have believed in the Gulf 12 Hours in the last eight years and allowed us to develop such a successful event, while we will also keep space for some new entries.
« From 2019 we will focus our attention on improving the lifestyle experience by making the paddock more alive and glamorous and further improving the live video streaming of the event. »