Good season start for Heart of Racing by SPS in Dubai

The German-American joint venture Heart of Racing by SPS made a good start to the 2025 motorsport year at the MICHELIN 24H Dubai. Ian James (GBR), Gray Newell, Hannah Grisham (both USA) and Zacharie Robichon (CAN) finished fourth in the GT3-AM category in the #27 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The 20th edition of the 24H Dubai also held a small anniversary in store for the SPS automotive performance team. Almost exactly ten years ago, the Willsbach-based team competed in this endurance classic for the first time on the desert circuit with the SLS AMG GT3. This year, SPS automotive performance entered the race for the third time in a row together with the US team from The Heart of Racing with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #27 under the entry Heart of Racing by SPS. After promising test sessions, Ian James, Gray Newell, Hannah Grisham and Zacharie Robichon qualified for the fifth starting position in the GT3-AM category for the 24-hour marathon on the Persian Gulf.

At the start of the 24H Dubai, Heart of Racing team principal Ian James took over the blue Mercedes-AMG GT3 and confidently stayed in the leading group of the GT3-AM class in the initial phase, which was characterized by several Code 60 phases. Gray Newell as well as debutants Hannah Grisham and Zacharie Robichon subsequently delivered an almost flawless performance. Different strategies by the teams and further Code 60 phases constantly jumbled up the classification. Shortly after the halfway point of the 24H Dubai, car number 27 was in fifth place in its class and thus still within striking distance of the podium positions. During the night and the early hours of the morning, the team continued to move forward and fought for the class podium despite some unfortunately timed Code 60 phases for the team. In the final phase, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 moved up to fourth position in the GT3-AM. The quartet battled for the podium places right to the end, but were unable to get any closer to third place. After 583 laps, final driver Ian James crossed the finish line in 10th place overall, which also meant fourth place in the GT3-AM category.

Following this good team performance, SPS automotive performance is highly motivated for the rest of the 2025 motorsport season. After further outings in the GT Winter Series, the next highlight is on the agenda from 31 January to 2 February. On the Australian Mount Panorama Circuit, the team will once again compete together with The Heart of Racing in the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Stephan Sohn, team principal at SPS automotive performance: “My compliments to the whole team, who did a great job over the entire weekend. Unfortunately, we had a bit of bad luck with the Code 60 phases in the race, otherwise we would certainly have been in with a chance of a podium finish. We are very optimistic about the next races.”

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