American Le Mans Series star Tommy Milner scores victory in 24 Hours of Dubai debut. The North American sportscar racing season kicks off in two weeks, but prior to its debut, teams around the world gathered in Dubai for the annual 24 Hours event.

Over 80 teams from 40 countries compete in this racing marathon and this year’s event featured several American drivers, including BMW veterans Bill Auberlen and Boris Said.

But the headlines bring ALMS driver and ex-BMW RLR pilot Tommy Milner to the front. Running for Need for Speed Schubert Motorsport team, Milner won the race aboard a BMW Z4 GT3.

Milner piloted the No. 76 BMW Z4 GT3 with BMW factory driver Augusto Farfus and team regulars Claudia Hurtgen and Edward Sandstrom, and drove to a four-lap win in what was a trouble-free race for the quartet.

“The 24-hour race in Dubai is the first tough test of the year for all the teams, and we mastered this challenge in style,” Milner said. “This was my first race at this circuit. Winning this kind of marathon at the first attempt is something I will certainly never forget. We had absolutely no problems and the team spirit was great. This was exactly what you wish for from a 24-hour race.”

The pre-race favorite, Tolimit Arabia Porsche 911 GT3 R of ALMS GTC co-champion Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sascha Maassen and Sean Edwards, finished only fourth after being in the second place for a while.

Schubert’s sister BMW Z4 of Bill Auberlen, Said, Matt Plumb and Paul Dalla Lana, placed fifth.

Race Results:

1 76 Need for Speed Schubert 1 BMW Z4 GT3 A6 1 — 594 laps —
2 4 AF Corse SRL 1 Ferrari F430 GT2 A6 2 — 591 laps —
3 7 Black Falcon #7 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 A6 3 — 590 laps —
4 18 tolimit arabia Porsche 911 GT3 R (997) A6 4 — 583 laps —
5 77 Need for Speed Schubert 2 BMW Z4 GT3 A6 5 — 579 laps —
6 26 Saudi Falcons by Lechner Racing Porsche 997 Cup A6 6 — 576 laps —
7 9 Heico Motorsport Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 A6 7 — 576 laps —
8 21 Förch Racing Team 1 Porsche 997 Cup (2010) A6 8 — 572 laps —
9 20 Car Collection 2 Autohandels Porsche GT3 CupS A6 9 — 566 laps —
10 23 Bovi Motorsport Brokernet Silversting SP2 1 — 564 laps —
11 33 De Lorenzi Racing 2 Porsche 997 997 1 — 560 laps —
12 38 Autoweiland.de/MW Sportive Porsche 997 Cup 997 2 — 554 laps —
13 123 Valspar Donkervoort Donkervoort D8 GT SP3 1 — 551 laps —
14 16 MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg Porsche GT3 997 R A6 10 — 550 laps —
15 116 HMR Aston Martin V8 Vantage SP3 2 — 544 laps —
16 71 JR Motorsport BMW E46 GTR A3T 1 — 543 laps —
17 11 Gomez Competition 2 Gomez Competition GC10.2 SP2 2 — 535 laps —
18 60 SUNRED 1 Seat Leon Super Copa A3T 2 — 534 laps —
19 44 MSW Racing Seat Leon Super Copa A3T 3 — 533 laps —
20 6 AF Corse SRL 3 Ferrari F430 GT2 A6 11 — 531 laps —

[Source: Speed TV ]