Christian Engelhart's start to the 2014 racing season was just perfect, as the five-time ADAC GT Masters race winner drove to victory in this weekend's 24 Hours of Dubai at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, along with four Swiss team-mates, Rolf and Mark Ineichen, Marcel Matter and Adrian Amstutz. The 27-year-old Porsche driver and his four-man crew began the ninth Dubai endurance race as outsiders and so he was extremely pleased with his first 24-hour race victory. Engelhart, who ended the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season in third place, told us: "This was my first time racing in Dubai and also my first finish in a 24-hour race. Coming home in P1 was simply fabulous. I never expected this victory in Dubai. Winning there was just fantastic. Our consistent driving style paid off ultimately. We stayed focused and looked after our car throughout - strong competition from Mercedes gave us plenty to think about. I now have to catch up on some sleep!"

Engelhart was not the only ADAC GT Masters driver to achieve a decent result in the endurance race in the desert. Claudia Hürtgen took a BMW Z4 GT3 to sixth place.

ADAC GT Masters drivers generally made a good impression at the season opener to the 2014 long distance racing season, but some of them were unlucky. The Porsche driven by Sebastian Asch and Martin Ragginger suffered a technical problem that put paid to their chances of winning while in the lead. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 shared by Andreas Simonsen, DTM record-breaking champion Bernd Schneider and Jeroen Bleekemolen retired after an electronics failure whilst leading the field.