Strong showing with an unfortunate end for Proton Competition in Dubai

Dubai – An unfortunate finish to a strong performance from Proton Competition: The Ummendorf team’s Oreca 07-Gibson was on track to its first win of the season in the fourth race of the Asian Le Mans Series in Dubai on Sunday. However, a collision through no fault of their own just four minutes shy of the finish line foiled all hopes. Giorgio Roda, Vladislav Lomko and Tom Dillmann, who had started the race from pole position, were left with a disappointing fourth-place result.

The squad of Christian and Michael Ried came into the races at the Dubai Autodrome well prepared. Giorgio Roda had already set two highlights in qualifying on the desert circuit: With a strong performance, he secured pole position for both races in the double-header for Proton Competition, as he had done at the season opener in Sepang. He and his teammates managed to capitalise on this great starting position with an impressive performance in Sunday’s race. After taking over the cockpit of the Oreca 07-Gibson from Vladislav Lomko, Tom Dillmann snatched the lead with an impressive overtaking manoeuvre an hour before the chequered flag. However, contact with a GT car just three laps before the finish ended with the #22 car off the track. That cost them the victory.

The second Oreca 07-Gibson from Proton Competition hailing the starting number 11, piloted by Alexander Matschull, Jonas Ried and Mathias Beche, was in the top 6 for a large portion of the race before a technical hiccup forced them to retire 35 minutes before the finish. In the GT class, the Porsche 911 GT3 R (#60) with Claudio Schiavone, Matteo Cressoni and Alessio Picariello finished 15th after a difficult race. The Porsche 911 GT3 R (#85) entered by Proton Competition for Team Iron Dames comprising Celia Martin, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting lost four laps due to a collision shortly after the start and finished in 23rd place.

Proton Competition secured two top-10 finishes in the overall standings in the first Dubai race on Saturday: the #22 car finished fifth and the #11 ninth. The #60 car also finished ninth in the GT class, while #85 finished 15th.

Complete results and standings are available at asianlemansseries.com.

Comments after the race
Michael Ried, Team Principal and CTO Proton Competition: “That was tough for the team. Victory would’ve definitely been deserved. But that’s just racing. Now, our sights are set on Abu Dhabi, where we have two more chances at our first win of the season in a week’s time.”

Christian Ried, Team Principal Proton Competition: “Dubai proved that we aren’t only strong in qualifying. Starting from pole in all four Asian Le Mans Series races so far this season is a huge achievement. But this time we were also strong in the race. Our first win of the season was within arm’s reach – up until shortly before the finish. Nevertheless, we’re keeping our chins up. In Abu Dhabi, we want to give it another shot to close out the season.”

Giorgio Roda (Oreca 07-Gibson #22): “It was a difficult weekend in Dubai. We were very strong in qualifying, but not everything went according to plan in the race on Saturday. Sunday was a markable improvement. We had a fast car and our strategy was perfect. Unfortunately, a collision right before the finish cost us the victory. Now, we want to take both poles again in Abu Dhabi and win at least one race.”

Tom Dillmann (Oreca 07-Gibson #22): “The team did an excellent job from Saturday into Sunday and provided us with a fantastic car. The race went perfectly. I took the lead coming into the final hour of the race. But three laps before the finish, I had contact with a GT car. That cost us the possible victory. Things like that can happen. Now, we’re shifting our focus to attacking again in Dubai and fighting for a win there.”

Vladislav Lomko (Oreca 07-Gibson #22): “We made good progress over the weekend. Our car was much better in the second race. That was really fun. We were in the lead for a long time. Without the incident just before the finish line, we could’ve won.”

Up next
The next outing for Proton Competition in the Asian Le Mans Series is Abu Dhabi/UAE with two four-hour races on 15 and 16 February 2025.