Michelle Gatting makes debut with Pure Rxcing to secure sixth in Dubai 24 Hours
- RACERS
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Michelle Gatting completed her first appearance with Pure Rxcing playing a key role in a hard-fought sixth place overall in a highly-competitive Dubai 24 Hours, gaining valuable experience in her first mixed-line up endurance race.
The 21st running of the Dubai 24 Hours saw the Creventic season-opener fetauring a massive 66-car field with a fiercely competitive GT3 grid for the classic endurance battle around the Dubai Autodrome. The first 24-hour race of the endurance season and the finale of the Creventic Middle East Trophyalso marked an important new chapter for Michelle Gatting.
For the first time, Gatting in fact lined up in a mixed-gender GT3 crew, as Iron Dames is exploring a new pathway in 2026. The Dane therefore joining Pure Rxcing alongside Max Hofer, Alexey Nesov, and Alex Malykhin. It was also Gatting’s first experience racing in the fastest category of a multi-class endurance field, adding the challenges of traffic management to the usual physical and strategic demands of a 24-hour race.
With the GT3 class packed with factory-supported line-ups and proven endurance squads, qualifying was fiercely contested. Gatting was tasked with the opening segment and immediately showed good speed, briefly going fastest overall on her first flying lap before settling into fourth with a 1:58.097, in the quickest Porsche time and a strong opening session for the #92 Pure Rxcing entry.
Max Hofer handled the second segment and again placed the car fourth, improving the benchmark with a 1:57.215. Alexey Nesov followed in Q3 and recorded a 1:56.901, keeping the Porsche among the front runners. Combined, the times placed the car seventh overall and confirmed a place in the top-10 shootout.
As the sun dipped behind the Dubai skyline, Nesov returned to the cockpit for the pole shootout. He was unable to set a representative lap, leaving the Pure Rxcing Porsche to start the race eighth on the GT3 grid.
Max Hofer took the opening stint as the enormous field navigated the first lap of the Dubai Autodrome. A frantic first lap saw multiple cars running side-by-side, with Hofer choosing a cautious approach to survive. After the opening exchanges, the #92 settled into 19th overall and eighth in GT3.
The race was neutralised almost immediately with a Code 60 at the end of lap one following early contacts. After half an hour, Hofer ran 20th in class as positions began to stabilise.
An ill-timed Code 60 for a stranded Mercedes during the first pit window shuffled the order dramatically, forcing some teams into double stops. Pure Rxcing was among the unlucky, having to pit twice due to fuel area congestion. Hofer remained in the car but, thanks to the cycling order, emerged up in seventh in GT3.
Another Code 60, this time for a stranded Porsche, triggered further refuelling stops. As green flag racing resumed close to the two-hour mark, Hofer had brought the car back into the top ten overall and sixth in class.
At the two-hour point, drama struck again when the Ajith RedAnt Racing Mercedes suffered an engine failure, bringing another neutralisation. During the caution, strategies cycled Pure Rxcing as high as third overall. Under the same Code 60, Gatting climbed aboard for her first stint, rejoining seventh in GT3.
Michelle immediately settled into consistent 2:00-range lap times, managing traffic cleanly and beginning to reel in the cars ahead. She advanced to sixth and closed on the #669 Team WRT BMW, keeping the Porsche firmly inside the overall top ten.
After her initial run, Gatting pitted but remained in the car, rejoining 19th. A longer green-flag phase followed before a Turn 1 crash triggered another Code 60, under which Gatting stopped for fuel.
Once back to racing, Gatting began another steady climb; at the four-hour mark she was running 11th, before pushing back into the top ten and then sixth. She handed the car over on lap 117 with the Pure Rxcing Porsche solidly among the front runners.
Alex Malykhin took over as the sun set, running consistently just outside the top ten. A debris-related Code 60 around the six-hour mark once again filled the pit lane. Malykhin rejoined 16th but soon found strong rhythm, producing a sequence of 2:00-second laps and climbing rapidly back into the top ten, reaching seventh.
Another interruption followed when the Winward Mercedes stopped on circuit with just under 17 hours remaining. Malykhin pitted under caution, before green-flag racing resumed and Nesov climbed aboard with the Porsche seventh overall.
Nesov maintained steady 2:00-range lap times, cycling back up to eighth before Hofer returned to the cockpit. Further disruption came when one of the leading 992-class cars crashed, requiring barrier repairs. Later, Malykhin took over again, pitted for fuel, and preserved ninth overall.
At the 14-hour mark, another Mercedes stopped on circuit, triggering yet another Code 60. Under caution, Malykhin pitted and Michelle Gatting began her second stint, rejoining eighth overall and preparing for a demanding night shift.
As darkness enveloped the circuit, Gatting returned to consistent pace, initially circulating in the low 2:02s before dipping into the 2:00.7 range as confidence built. She completed strong green-flag laps before a scheduled fuel stop on lap 369.
Despite older tyres, Gatting continued to extract some performance, passing Simonov for position and lapping in the 2:01s. Over the course of the stint, she climbed back into ninth, maintaining Pure Rxcing’s place inside the top ten before handing over to Nesov with eight hours remaining.
Nesov ran 11th when a Seat Leon stopped with seven hours to go, prompting another extended neutralisation and a wave of pit stops. As dawn broke over Dubai, painting the sky orange, Malykhin was back in the car running ninth.
With five hours remaining, further Code 60 periods followed - including incidents involving a GT3 Ferrari and barrier damage - before Malykhin made another fuel stop. As racing resumed, major accidents struck in quick succession: first the Rossa GT, then the #777 Ferrari of Al Zubair, which hit the wall heavily and retired.
Hofer returned to the #92 Porsche for the run toward the final hours, circulating just outside the top ten before another caution - triggered by the leading GTX Ginetta - slowed down the pace again. With around three hours left, Nesov took over in tenth place.
As the track returned to green, lap times dropped across the field. Nesov found strong pace, climbing to eighth and holding station as the race entered its final hour.
Another Code 60 was called following a crash for a Porsche at Turn 9, setting up a 30-minute sprint to the flag. With 20 minutes to go, the GT3 Am-leading Paradine BMW suffered a dramatic brake failure that destroyed a tyre and forced an unscheduled pit stop, dropping it out of podium contention.
Nesov capitalised, gaining a position as the BMW remained stranded in the garage. As some GT3 runners were forced into late fuel stops, the Pure Rxcing Porsche stayed on track, climbing again, this time to sixth overall.
After 24 action-packed hours, Nesov took the chequered flag in a hard-earned sixth place, completing a positive debut for Michelle Gatting with the team and securing a strong result against one of the strongest Dubai 24H fields in recent memory.
For Michelle Gatting, the result was an encouraging first appearance with Pure Rxcing and her first endurance race in a mixed line up.
“A brand-new experience for me swapping my usual pink for grey, yellow, and orange", she commented. "Same job, but so many new lessons learned: traffic management with slower cars, and cutting corners at night like there was no tomorrow.
“The guys at Pure Rxcing delivered an absolutely top job throughout the entire race, every pit stop on point. Huge credit as well to everyone on the car: Max, Alexey, and Alex."
“And of course, I’ll proudly keep representing Iron Dames. This project is part of who I am, both as a driver and as a person, and I’ll carry this brand with me for as long as I can.”
