Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing continued their winning ways on home soil, proving they’re still the class of endurance racing.
After seizing overall top honours in the 24H Series last year, the Dubai-based team began the new season Saturday in the same manner they started their previous one – with victory in the TCR class.
The team’s SEAT Leon was shared between Phil Quaife and Moutran brothers Sami, Ramzi and Nabil, who crossed the finish line in 524 laps, 39 ahead of second-placed Zest Racecar Engineering – the second-largest winning gap in any class.
While many cars dealt with incidents on the track, Memac Ogilvy managed to stay clean.
“If you were to pinpoint, through the night we were consistent,” Sami Moutran told Sport360.
“A lot of cars had problems through the night because of the traffic and the incidents that were happening. We managed to stay out of it and that’s probably where we built a gap that made it difficult for anyone to catch us.”
It also helped that the brothers are more than comfortable on the circuit, where they’ve earned their racing stripes.
“We live here in the UAE and the Dubai Autodrome is our home circuit,” Sami said. “For most of us on the team, we had our first competitive racing here, so to win it two years in a row after so many years of trying is a dream come true.
“To start our first season as defending champions with a win, it sets us up on a good foot for the rest of the season. Let’s see where we can take it from here.”
