Alex Fontana will be on the starting grid for the 11th edition of the Gulf 12 Hours, the final round in the Intercontinental GT Challenge 2023 Powered by Pirelli to be held at the Yas Marina circuit on the weekend of 8-10 December. This event, which since 2013 has represented one of the most important endurance races of the winter months, will see the Swiss driver competing at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Centri Porsche Ticino, the team which he triumphed this season in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe.
On this occasion too, the Canton Ticino-based outfit will benefit from technical support from Car Collection, the pairing having enjoyed such success over the course of this year. The Centri Porsche Ticino car will also be carrying the logo of Arch Motorcycles, the marque owned by Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger who have followed with interest the Swiss team’s impact in the world of GT3 racing this season. For Fontana this represents progress in terms of quality after having competed in the last edition with a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, again entered by Centri Porsche Ticino, claiming victory in the 992 class. Fontana will be joined a further three drivers during the course of the race: he will be sharing the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 R with “Hash”, Yannick Mettler and Stefano Costantini.
This team has had some experience of racing together this season as the line-up chosen by Centri Porsche Ticino is in fact almost the same as the one used by the Swiss outfit in the fifth and final round of the 24H series, the 24 Hours of Barcelona, in which Fontana and his teammates crossed the line fifth overall and fourth in the GT3 Pro/Am class. On that occasion, Costantini’s place was occupied by the General Director of Centri Porsche Ticino, Ivan Jacoma, who this time will be following the race from the pit wall. The Gulf 12 Hours, to be held on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, will see the green flag drop at 10:45 AM on Sunday the 10th of December.
Alex Fontana
“I’m truly delighted to once again be representing Centri Porsche Ticino in the Gulf 12 Hours and I would like to thank the team for having given me the opportunity to participate in an even of this importance, one in which last season we won the 992 class. Competing with the Porsche 911 GT3 R will be very special and we’ll be doing all we can to take full advantage and bring home a positive result. The team is a tight-knit group, we raced together in the 24 Hours of Barcelona and we know the car well; Stefano too had a chance to get to know the team on the occasion of the Endurance race in the Italian GT Championship. This will be a great chance to maximize our experience and also to demonstrate the growth of the AF Academy, from which Hash arrives. This is a vitally important process and represents considerable progress for him too as after the injury he suffered last winter he is getting back up to speed in a racing programme we designed specifically to meet his needs. We be giving everything to bring home the best possible result after having conquered the Pro-Am class title in the GT World Challenge Europe.”
On this occasion too, the Canton Ticino-based outfit will benefit from technical support from Car Collection, the pairing having enjoyed such success over the course of this year. The Centri Porsche Ticino car will also be carrying the logo of Arch Motorcycles, the marque owned by Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger who have followed with interest the Swiss team’s impact in the world of GT3 racing this season. For Fontana this represents progress in terms of quality after having competed in the last edition with a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, again entered by Centri Porsche Ticino, claiming victory in the 992 class. Fontana will be joined a further three drivers during the course of the race: he will be sharing the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 R with “Hash”, Yannick Mettler and Stefano Costantini.
This team has had some experience of racing together this season as the line-up chosen by Centri Porsche Ticino is in fact almost the same as the one used by the Swiss outfit in the fifth and final round of the 24H series, the 24 Hours of Barcelona, in which Fontana and his teammates crossed the line fifth overall and fourth in the GT3 Pro/Am class. On that occasion, Costantini’s place was occupied by the General Director of Centri Porsche Ticino, Ivan Jacoma, who this time will be following the race from the pit wall. The Gulf 12 Hours, to be held on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, will see the green flag drop at 10:45 AM on Sunday the 10th of December.
Alex Fontana
“I’m truly delighted to once again be representing Centri Porsche Ticino in the Gulf 12 Hours and I would like to thank the team for having given me the opportunity to participate in an even of this importance, one in which last season we won the 992 class. Competing with the Porsche 911 GT3 R will be very special and we’ll be doing all we can to take full advantage and bring home a positive result. The team is a tight-knit group, we raced together in the 24 Hours of Barcelona and we know the car well; Stefano too had a chance to get to know the team on the occasion of the Endurance race in the Italian GT Championship. This will be a great chance to maximize our experience and also to demonstrate the growth of the AF Academy, from which Hash arrives. This is a vitally important process and represents considerable progress for him too as after the injury he suffered last winter he is getting back up to speed in a racing programme we designed specifically to meet his needs. We be giving everything to bring home the best possible result after having conquered the Pro-Am class title in the GT World Challenge Europe.”