UAE Formula Trophy Series – Abu Dhabi
Three up and coming open wheel drivers continued their strong performances in the UAE Formula Trophy Series as Noah Killion (AGI Sport), Hunter Salvatore (Evans GP) and Nicolas Stati (AGI Sport) aimed to finish the three-round campaign on a high note at Yas Marina Circuit.
All three finished inside the top 10 in the first qualifying session and almost did the same in the second, had Killion had finished one place higher in the session.
Race 1 for the round did not go to plan for Killion, returning to the pits on the second lap. Stati also fell down the order to finish the race in 20th. Salvatore managed to string together a clean race to finish the 25-minute session in seventh after 14 laps.
Salvatore started 10th on the grid for the second of two races, meanwhile Killion lined up on the starting grid in 14th, and Stati near the front closing out the second row in fourth.
Stati did a good job of putting pressure on his opponents, but a couple of five-second penalties dropped him down to ninth for the session despite crossing the finish line in fourth after 25 minutes – the result of a last lap overtake.
Further back in 10th was Killion, who would be classified just 1.3 seconds behind Stati. However, it was again Salvatore who was the highest-placed driver out of the three Aussies in seventh, being rewarded for good discipline around the track.
Salvatore’s 39 points put him in a tie for seventh in the Championship standings, with Killion’s 10 points put him in a tie for 11th. Stati claimed sixth Championship points for the year to finish the season in 13th.
Asia Auto Gymkhana Championship – Tashkent
Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Champion Corinne East-Johnston arrived to Uzbekistan for the fifth and final round of the Asian Auto Gymkhana Champion (AAGC) in Tashkent.
Among 20 international teams, East-Johnston competed alongside her father Phillip East, who was celebrated at the event for being the oldest driver in attendance at the age of 80.
East-Johnston finished Qualifying in third, before concluding the event with the final placing of fifth.
The weekend’s round brought the Championship campaign to a close following rounds in Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, India, Taipei and most recently Uzbekistan.
Asian Le Mans Series – Sepang
Strong practice stints at Sepang International Circuit for James Allen and his RD Limited teammates had them in good stead for qualifying with the 12th and sixth fastest lap times for the round’s first two sessions.
The #30 Oreca 07- Gibson lapped a 1:58.408 in Qualifying 1, the 10th-fastest time among competitors, which was then bolstered by 11th-fastest lap time in Qualifying 2 (1:59.258).
Allen and his team’s rise continued into the first 4 Hours of Sepang Feature Race, climbing up the standings to finish sixth and a strong weekend was further capped off by an eighth place finish in the second feature race the following day.
Jordan Love suited up with JMR in the #99 Corvette Z06 GT3.R alongside Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Ben Green as the navigated the busy GT Class. JMR placed 32nd outright in Qualifying 1, and 31st outright in Qualifying 2.
Love and company did well to climb a few spots to 28th outright in the first of two weekend races, ninth in their class. In Race 2, JMR sewed up 31st outright and 12th in their class.
Martin Berry joined EBM in its #89 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. The team began proceedings with the 34th fastest time in Qualifying 1, which was followed up with a 33rd fastest lap in Qualifying 2.
EBM was six laps off the pace behind the outright leaders in Race 1, with Berry and his teammates finishing the session in 26th, good enough for a seventh place class result. A hard effort to replicate, Berry finished Race 2 further down the outright order in 34th.
JMR’s driver line-up of Australian Yasser Shahin, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Alexander Sims secured pole position in Qualifying 1 following a 2:19.236 lap in the #66 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GT Class. Shahin and cohort doubled up on their success in qualifying, securing pole again in the second session with a lap time of 2:20.093.
JMR weren’t able to convert both poles into a class win, as the trio slid down to 16th among the GT vehicles in Race 1. JMR was then classified 46th in Race 2.
Aussie pairing Mark Rosser and Garnet Patterson formed two-thirds of the United Autosports #59 McLaren 720S GT3 over the weekend. The squad was clocked with a 2:35.856 time in Qualifying 1 (46th outright) and was followed up with a 2:37.748 lap in Qualifying 2 (44th outright).
United Autosports kicked into gear for both races, improving to 32nd outright and 13th among the GT class. The team secured 38th place outright in Race 2.
DKR Engineering and Griffin Peebles made a strong start to the weekend, finishing sixth outright in Qualifying 1 and fourth in Qualifying 2.
The #3 Oreca 07 – Gibson looked a serious contender within the LMP2 class but the trio had slid down to 11th by the end of the first feature race finishing 53 seconds off the race winning pace. Peebles and his teammates bounced back in Race 2, holding their position and finishing one spot off the podium in fourth.
Next up for the Australians in the Asian Le Mans Series will head to the Dubai Autodrome from 29 January to 1 February for Round 2.
Gulf 12 Hour – Abu Dhabi
A strong contingent of Aussies made their way to the Yas Marina Circuit for the tough Gulf 12 Hour Enduro.
Grove Racing by GetSpeed made it two Mercedes-AMG GT3s on the podium. Stephen and Brenton Grove, alongside Jules Gounon, finished third in their #4 car.
Newcomers Geyer Valmont Racing marked their first international race with a Pro-Am class win in their #44 Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Jayden Ojeda, Brendon Leitch, Sergio Pires and Marcel Zalloua at the wheel. They finished sixth overall.
The next edition of the Gulf 12 Hours will take place on 10 January 2027. The change to a January date restores the event’s traditional four-day structure.
However, the traditional December slot will be filled by a new short-format GT race event scheduled for 13 December 2026.
