| Podium in Abu Dhabi and catching up in Dubai: Car Collection Motorsport secures second place in the GT3-AM classification of the Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy 2026. Car Collection Motorsport has two intense race weekends on the Arabian Peninsula behind it. At the Michelin 6H Abu Dhabi and the Michelin 24H Dubai, the Hessian team competed for the title in the GT3-AM classification of the Middle East Trophy with the Porsche 911 GT3 R #87 under the name ‘Origine powered by CC’ and ultimately secured second place in the overall standings. Strong start: podium in Abu Dhabi The trio of Bob Yuan, Leo Ye and Wei Lu crowned the start in Abu Dhabi with third place in the GT3 AM class. The Porsche #87 already made a statement in free practice with first place in the AM classification. In the six-hour race, the team fought its way through numerous Code 60 phases to finish on the podium and ended the event level on points with the second-placed team in the championship. The second Porsche #7 driven by Victor Plekhanov, Damir Saitov and Aleksei Denisov retired early after an accident. Dubai: Comeback after a difficult start A week later, the 24-hour highlight in Dubai followed. For the endurance race, Car Collection strengthened the #87 line-up with Yi Deng, who replaced his compatriot Wei Lu, as well as the last-minute additions of Artur Goroyan and Roman Mavlanov. In qualifying, Bob Yuan underlined the team’s potential with the fastest time in the AM classification (Q1). However, the race began with a setback: contact on the first lap forced the team to make repairs, losing several laps. Added to this was a 90-second time penalty for two Code 60 offences. Catch-up race to the chequered flag: runner-up championship secured What followed was a catch-up race that lasted almost the entire race. Lap after lap, the #87 Porsche worked its way through the field and finally finished fifth in the AM class. In the overall standings of the 2026 Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy, this meant second place in the GT3-AM category. A conciliatory end to a combative weekend. Following the races, the Car Collection team completed a test on the Formula 1 circuit in Abu Dhabi, thus concluding its extensive winter programme in the United Arab Emirates. Now it’s time for the intensive preparation phase for the upcoming European season. Romina Schmidt, Team Manager Car Collection Motorsport: “The podium in Abu Dhabi was a perfect start to the season and showed that we have the pace. In Dubai, we did a flawless job as a team, but unfortunately the start contact and penalties set us back too far to be able to fight for the win. Nevertheless, I am proud of the team. The comeback was impressive, and second place in the Middle East Trophy is a great achievement. We are taking a lot of positives with us into the rest of the season.” |
