Tagliani Mid-Race Report at the Dubai 24-Hour Endurance Race

Montreal, Quebec - Canadian driver Alex Tagliani is in the Middle East this weekend competing at the Dubai 24 Hours, Round 1 of the 24H International Endurance Series Powered by Hankook. The Laval, Quebec resident, racing the HRT Performance #72 Porsche 991 Cup, is part of a 5-driver team that includes Canadian racer, Jean-Frédéric Laberge of Montreal, Kim André Hauschild and Harald Hennes of Germany and Jose Luis Talermann of Argentina.

Starting 41st on a grid of 98 cars split into nine classes at 2:00 p.m. Dubai time on Saturday (Friday 5:00 a.m., Eastern time), Tagliani quickly set the pace moving from 11th in class to 7th (35th overall) in the first hour. By the time he came into the pits 50 minutes later for a driver change and fuel on lap 43, the #72 Porsche 991 was 24th overall and second in the 991 class.

"That was quite a rush battling with the 991 Porsche factory drivers at the start of the race," Tagliani said following his initial stint. "The car is running well and we are looking for a strong race."

Unfortunately mechanical problems occurred for Laberge who took over the car. Thirteen laps into his stint, a fan belt broke while running 31st overall. The car spent 22 minutes in the pits for a belt change and to cool the engine. Returning on track, the #72 car was 85th overall, 15 laps down on the leader and 10 down on the 991 class leader. Laberge completed his stint on lap 63, but upon returning to his pit box, the car remained idle an additional 18 minutes to cool the engine.

On lap 120, José Luis Talermann stopped on the track with more mechanical problems. It would take 15 minutes before the tow truck brought the Porsche into the pits and another 25 to repair. Tagliani was the next driver up followed by two of his teammates and all was running well by mid-race. However with so many strong teams still running, it will be difficult for team #72 to stage a comeback. Halfway through the event the #72 Porsche was 72nd overall, 13th in class. The Land-Motorsport #28 Audi R8 LMS was the race leader after 270 laps while the Lechner Racing Middle East #40 Porsche 991 Cup was first in the 991 class, nine laps down from the overall leader.