Dubai 24: Solenn Amrouche fights for class win, secures 992 podium, Maya Hartge makes solid debut with top-five finish in 992 AM
- RACERS
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Solenn Amrouche and her Seblajoux Racing teammates ran consistently at the front of the ultra-competitive Porsche 992 field eventually securing a class podium. On her first appearance at the Dubai 24 Hours and only her second endurance race, Maya Hartge produced a mature and consistent drive to bring ARMotors by HRT home fifth in the 992 AM class.
The Dubai 24 Hours was once again a spectacular opening chapter to the international endurance season, as a massive 66-car field took on the Creventic flagship event just one week after the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi. With the grid packed with professional outfits, factory-supported crews and ambitious smaller teams, the 21st running of the race provided an action-packed test around the clock at Dubai Autodrome.
Among the stories of the weekend were two different but equally impressive performances: Solenn Amrouche’s front-running run with Seblajoux Racing in the ultra-competitive Porsche 992 category, and Maya Hartge’s solid display on her Dubai 24H debut with ARMotors by HRT in the 992 AM class.
One week after finishing just outside the top five in Abu Dhabi in the #910 Seblajoux Racing Porsche, Amrouche did not take part in qualifying duties, leaving her teammates to secure the starting position. Louis Perrot opened proceedings in Q1 and, after an early red flag, delivered a 2:01.035 that placed the car at the top of the combined times. Enzo Joulié maintained that momentum in Q2 with a 2:01.939, keeping the Seblajoux entry provisionally on pole. In the final segment, Sébastien Lajoux himself completed the line-up with a 2:03.482, which dropped the team a little down the order as the track evolved. On combined times, the #910 ultimately qualified fifth in the 992 category, still well placed for the long race.
In the 992 AM field, Maya Hartge returned just days after making her endurance debut in Abu Dhabi, stepping into the #931 ARMotors by HRT Porsche. Dmitry Shishko set a 2:08.169 in Q1 to place ninth in class, before Hartge took over in Q2 and immediately improved the benchmark with a 2:07.154. Alex Renner closed qualifying with a 2:04.165, securing ninth in the 992 AM class on combined times for the team.
Sébastien Lajoux took the start for Seblajoux Racing, while Alex Renner launched the ARMotors by HRT entry. The opening lap was predictably hectic, with heavy traffic and multiple incidents across the pack triggering an early Code 60. Lajoux settled into sixth in the 992 category, while Renner held ninth in 992 AM.
Once the race returned to green, Renner briefly slipped back with conservative early-stint pace but quickly recovered the position, while Lajoux hovered around the fringes of the top eight. After the first round of stops, the positions shifted dramatically when a stranded Mercedes appeared during the pit window, forcing several teams into compromised double stops.
Solenn Amrouche took over the #910 Porsche at this phase, rejoining ninth in class. In the #931, Burlutskiy climbed aboard, running eighth in 992 AM. Another Code 60 for a stranded Porsche soon followed, triggering further fuel stops. Amrouche briefly pitted again and handed over to Perrot, as the team was beginning to build momentum.
Once green-flag running resumed, the Seblajoux Porsche came alive. Perrot immediately set the fastest lap in the 992 class and began carving through the field. Even a poorly timed neutralisation following an engine fire for a RedAnt Mercedes could not halt the recovery. Over an extended green-flag run, Perrot charged from the lower reaches of the top ten into the thick of the class fight.
Crucially, Perrot managed to pit just before a Code 60 for a Turn 1 crash, vaulting the #910 into podium contention. After the pit cycle, he emerged second in class, and soon after seized the 992 lead, completing a remarkable climb.
Mathys Jaubert then took over and maintained competitive pace, before Enzo Joulié continued the charge as night fell, keeping the Seblajoux entry at the front of the category after a relentless opening phase.
Meanwhile, Maya Hartge climbed into the #931 Porsche for her first Dubai 24H stint just over three hours into the race. Running eighth in 992 AM, she focused on rhythm and consistency, circulating in the 2:07s and 2:09s as she settled into the flow of traffic and nightfall conditions. Her measured pace paid off, moving the car up to seventh in class before handing back to her teammates.
As the night deepened, repeated neutralisations shuffled the order. Hartge returned for another stint and continued to deliver steady laps in the 2:10–2:11 range. However, a setback struck around the halfway point when Burlutskiy brought the car in with a pierced radiator after contact with a stone. The team lost five laps as repairs were completed before Hartge rejoined, now tasked with rebuilding the recovery.
Despite the lost time, Hartge remained composed, circulating reliably through the night and avoiding trouble, allowing ARMotors by HRT to stabilise their position and begin clawing back ground in 992 AM.
Back at Seblajoux Racing, another well-timed Code 60 allowed Solenn Amrouche to rejoin the car and briefly resume control of the 992 class. Her stints were efficient, maintaining the car’s presence among the class leaders while navigating heavy multi-class traffic.
Through the middle hours, the #910 Porsche remained locked in a battle with Red Camel-Jordans and other front-runners, cycling between the lead and podium positions as penalties, tyre life and pit timing flowed. Jaubert repeatedly emerged as one of the fastest drivers in the class, at one point lapping under 2:03 and dragging the car back to second place.
A track limits penalty and later a one-minute-ten sanction for a Code 60 infringement proved costly, knocking the Seblajoux entry back into the fight for third rather than outright victory.
As the sun rose over Dubai Autodrome, the 992 battle intensified. Jaubert and Joulié continued to exchange with the leading Porsche, running long green-flag stints and trading fastest laps. A sequence of heavy accidents - including a violent shunt for the Rossa GT and another for the #777 Ferrari - repeatedly neutralised the race.
In the closing three hours, the Seblajoux Racing crew consolidated third in the 992 category, carefully managing fuel and penalties.
In the #931 ARMotors by HRT Porsche, Hartge completed the final hour with a disciplined run, circulating consistently in the 2:08–2:09 range, preserving the car and capitalising on attrition around her. She brought the Porsche to the flag eighth overall in the 992 field and fifth in the 992 AM class - an impressive result for a driver contesting only her second endurance race and her first Dubai 24 Hours.
After 24 hours of relentless competition, Enzo Joulié took the chequered flag third in the 992 category, securing a hard-fought podium for Seblajoux Racing. For Solenn Amrouche, it marked a highlight performance: consistently in the mix for the class win, contributing key stints as the team fought at the front of one of the race’s deepest fields.
For Maya Hartge, a top-five finish in 992 AM, achieved despite the overnight repair, completed a mature debut at the Dubai 24 Hours and represented a quick adaptation to the challenges of endurance racing.
