2026 4 Hours of Dubai preview
- Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
The 2025–26 Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) resumes this weekend. After a monsoon-affected opening double-header in Sepang, the field heads to the Middle East for two 4-hour battles in the Dubai desert from 29 January to 1 February.
Entry list
LMP2
The LMP2 class features 16 entries in the 47-car field. Among the favourites is the No.25 Algarve Pro Racing (APR) car. The defending winner from last year's first race heads to Dubai in strong form following podium finishes at the Sepang season-opener
The current LMP2 championship leader, the No.47 Cetilar Racing, is looking to extend its 14-point lead from its double Sepang wins over the No.25 APR car. The Italian side will be expecting fierce competition from its rivals this weekend.
Cetilar Racing driver Roberto Lacorte stressed the importance of focus: "The advantage is not so huge, so we have to stay focused.
"We have to keep on working and keep on pushing to maintain the distances from the competitors. Algarve Pro Racing did a very good job in Sepang, and they are very close. We have to stay focused and keep pushing hard."
The No.4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry will be bolstered by George Kurtz, Malthe Jakobsen and Louis Delétraz, who arrive in Dubai fresh from competing in last weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours. The squad enters Dubai in top form, having secured a brace of podium finishes at the Sepang season-opener.
United Autosports’ dual-entry effort, the Nos.5 and 6, will be hungry to bounce back in Dubai. The No.5 car was well within reach of a victory in the Sepang opener before eventually settling for fifth. Reflecting on their speed, Giorgio Roda noted: 'Pole position for Race 1 confirmed that our pace and potential are there
Last year's LMP3 winners, Theodor Jensen and Jens Reno Møller, will compete in LMP2 in the No.49 High Class Racing. The duo will be joined by endurance racing veteran Gustavo Menezes, the 2016 FIA WEC LMP2 Drivers' Champion.
Jensen and Møller's last year teammate, Griffin Peebles, will compete for the No.3 DKR Engineering car alongside Matthias Beche and Alexander Mattschull.
Stefan Aust returns to the No.22 Proton Competition cockpit this weekend, having missed the Sepang opener due to injury. After being replaced by Bernardo Sousa in Malaysia, the German driver reunites with compatriots Felipe Fernández Laser and Jonas Ried.
There are no lineup changes from the Sepang round for United Autosports, RD Limited, Inter Europol Competition, ARC Bratislava, Ponos Racing, Nielsen Racing and Vector Sport RLR.
LMP3
In the LMP3 category, a 10-car field is set to tackle the Dubai Autodrome. Championship leaders CLX Motorsport hold a slim five-point advantage over the No.13 Inter Europol Competition, after the Swiss squad secured a podium and a victory at the Sepang season-opener to edge out their Polish rivals.
Defending LMP3 champions Bretton Racing arrive in the Middle East looking for a reset. Currently sitting ninth in the standings, the squad will look to lean on their winning experience in Dubai last season to regain momentum and climb back into the title conversation.
Nick Adcock, one of the winning LMP3 drivers from last year with RLR MSport, will team up with Lucas Fecury and Luciano Morano in the No.29 Forestier Racing by VPS. They currently sit third in the championship after a strong podium finish in Sepang.
The grid's sole Duqueine D09 entry, the No.85 R-ace GP, undergoes a significant shake-up for Dubai with a new lineup. Singaporean standout Danial Frost returns from his two-year mandatory military service, and he will be joined by Shahan Sarkissian. By the time of this writing, the French side has yet to announce who will complete the final spot.
Team Virage will enter two cars: the No.1 and the No.8. The No.1 car will be filled by Indian actor Ajith Kumar and compatriot and former Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan. They will be joined by the 2023 Le Mans Cup LMP3 champion, Julien Gerbi.
23Events Racing and High Class Racing, both podium finishers in Malaysia, complete the 10-car grid for Dubai.
GT
There are 21 entries for the GT category. It is a cagey affair at the top of the table with the No.74 Kessel Racing leading the No.9 GetSpeed Performance by two points. Both teams took one win each in Sepang and will be looking for strong results in the Dubai Autodrome. Luxembourgish driver Steve Jans replaces Shigekazu Wakisaka in the No.9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Local interest will undoubtedly centre on the sister Mercedes, the No.37 QMMF by GetSpeed entry. Qatari racers Abdulla Al-Khelaifi and Ghanim Al-Maadheed will lead the charge for the region, with Mercedes-AMG factory driver Lucas Auer.
Sitting third in the championship is the No.87 Origine Motorsport. The Chinese team took third in the second Sepang race. The trio of Bo Yuan, Hongli Ye and Porsche GTP driver Laurin Heinrich would undoubtedly be eager to take the top step of the podium this time around.
Reigning GT champions Manthey will once again field two Porsche 911 GT3 R. Their No.10 car, driven by Antares Au, Klaus Bachler and Loek Hartog, took second in Round 1. However, they are tied with the No.69 BMW Team WRT, which took second in Round 2, where the No.10 car retired.
Andrey Mukovoz and Alexey Nesov will join Wayne Boyd in the No.59 United Autosports McLaren, replacing Garnet Patterson and Mark Rosser.
Four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will join the grid with JMR and TF Sport entering two cars each. One of the TF-run cars, the No.34, will be racing under the Racing Team Turkey banner.
Ferrari dominates the GT grid with six 296 GT3s. Excluding the aforementioned Kessel Racing entries, four are operated by AF Corse: three under their own banner and one under the AF Racing name for the Thai-flagged No.50 entry.
The No.56 Blackthorn and the No.89 Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) are Aston Martin’s representatives in Dubai. Blackthorn, in particular, will be aiming for another podium to boost their championship aspirations after a strong showing in the Sepang opener.
The grid is completed with the No.28 UNX Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo and another Porsche entrant, the No.77 Proton Competition.
Track profile
The 4 Hours of Dubai will be held in the Dubai Autodrome, located in the Dubailand entertainment complex, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of the country's top racing tracks alongside Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, which hosts the ALMS finale.
The circuit has hosted the iconic Dubai 24 Hour race since its inauguration in 2006 and has long been a fixture on the calendars of premier international series.
The 5.390 km Grand Prix layout is different compared to the relatively flat tracks in the Middle East. Despite its desert surroundings, the track features elevation changes and a handful of fast-sweeping corners. Last year's fastest qualifying lap was set by Giorgio Roda in the No.22 Proton Competition car with 1:47.569.
Roberto Lacorte believes Dubai is another tricky test after Sepang: "Dubai is a completely different track to Sepang.
"There are many reasons, from the design of the track, to the atmosphere in terms of weather and in terms of position, geographical position.
“The track surface is very, very bumpy, and for a prototype, this is one more point to manage in a very accurate way, in order to have the stability and to be accurate driving in approaching the corner with those kinds of bumps.
"Maybe the temperature will be different, because we found in the last test in Dubai, the temperature was much easier than [in] Malaysia."
No.74 Kessel Racing driver Dennis Marschall believes the track's nature would suit the 296 well: "Based on our ALMS experience last year, Dubai seems to suit the Kessel Racing Ferrari quite well.
"That said, I stopped setting expectations for upcoming weekends a long time ago. You never truly know where you stand pace-wise until you hit the track for the first time.
"I actually like the track quite a lot. Some of the GT ALMS drivers have just completed the 24 Hours of Dubai, and it’s a very technical circuit where the ideal line really makes a difference."
After making his LMP2 debut with APR last weekend, Enzo Trulli will return to familiar ground, where he won the 2021 Formula 4 UAE Championship. The Italian is confident that APR's package will allow them to contend for victories.
"I know both Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit very well.
"I love Dubai’s first sector because you go from a medium-speed corner into high-speed and back to slow-speed, it’s an enjoyable combination. Algarve Pro has a strong package there, and I believe we can better what we achieved at Sepang."
Race weekend schedule
The 4 Hours of Dubai weekend will commence with the 90-minute free practice sessions on Friday, 30 January. The first session will take place at 11:00 local time (07:00 GMT), followed by the second session in the afternoon at 16:30 (12:30 GMT).
Saturday’s schedule begins with a high-stakes qualifying triple-header: GT at 09:40 (05:40 GMT), followed by LMP3 at 10:05 (06:05 GMT) and LMP2 at 10:30 (06:30 GMT). After a brief midday break, the weekend’s first four-hour race will get underway at 14:10 local time (10:10 GMT). The weekend will be concluded with the second race at the same time on Sunday.
The race weekend will be supported by the regional series Formula Regional Middle East Trophy and the UAE4 Series.
Expect relatively sunny and breezy weather across the weekend with quite a high level of humidity.
Championship standings
LMP2 - Top 5
1st No.47 Cetilar Racing - 50 pts
2nd No.25 Algarve Pro Racing - 36 pts
3rd No.4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR - 30 pts
4th No.5 United Autosports - 19 pts
5th No.64 Nielsen Racing - 14 pts
LMP3
1st No.17 CLX Motorsport - 42 pts
2nd No.13 Inter Europol Competition - 37 pts
3rd No.29 Forestier Racing by VPS - 25 pts
4th No.94 High Class Racing - 24 pts
5th No.71 23Events Racing - 18 pts
GT
1st No.74 Kessel Racing - 35 points
2nd No.9 GetSpeed Performance - 33 pts
3rd No.87 Origine Motorsport - 23 pts
4th No.69 Team WRT - 18 pts
5th No.10 Manthey - 18 pts
DIVEBOMB's ones to watch for the 4 Hours of Dubai
With 47 cars on the grid, DIVEBOMB's Sportscars team has selected one car in each class which we think fans should keep an eye on throughout the weekend.
LMP2: No.25 Algarve Pro Racing - Dillmann, Jensen, Trulli
LMP3: No.17 CLX Motorsport - Jacoby, Lanchère, Rabin
GT: No.21 AF Corse - Leung, Mann, Rovera
Comments