Lionspeed GP to tackle Gulf 12 Hours with multinational lineup

Lionspeed GP is ready to tackle the final racing event of 2024, the Gulf 12 Hours, with a multinational lineup of drivers. Team principal Patrick Kolb is joined at the Yas Marina Circuit joined by three experienced racers, who all make their debuts with the team.

Lionspeed GP returns to Gulf 12 Hours after one-year absence
Pro-Am-focused event marks final race of 2024
Three new drivers join Patrick Kolb to make team debut

The Gulf 12 Hours, organized by Driving Force Events and held annually at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, has earned a spot on the international motorsport calendar as one of the premier Pro-Am endurance races in the world. It also serves as the closing chapter of a long and exciting 2024 campaign, which Lionspeed will tackle with an all-new and highly experienced lineup.

Team principal Kolb (GER) will be joined aboard the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R by three drivers that bring significant amounts of racing experience to the team, but race with Lionspeed for the first time: Kyle Tilley (GBR), Gabriel Rindone (UAE) and Bashar Mardini (CAN).

Tilley, born in the United Kingdom but currently based near Indianapolis in the United States, is best known as the driving force behind the American Era Motorsport team. A gifted, multi-disciplined racer, Tilley’s most significant achievement in modern machinery came when he won the LMP2 class in the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona. However, he has also frequently competed in historic Formula One championships and even briefly raced in NASCAR.

Rindone joins the team as one of the two Bronze-rated drivers. Born in France to Italian parents, he lived in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United States but these days resides in the United Arab Emirates. He has been racing for several years and is poised to step into Lionspeed’s Porsche 911 GT3 R after gaining significant experience racing Lamborghini machinery. Championships raced include Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, the Asian Le Mans Series and Intercontinental GT Challenge.

His fellow Bronze driver, Mardini, is equally as well-versed and well-traveled. Born in Kuwait but holding both the Canadian and Emirati nationality, Mardini has competed in everything from Porsche Cup cars to GT3 and even LMP3. Most recently, he raced a Porsche 911 GT3 R in International GT Open, made his 24 Hours of Spa debut last year and came close to winning the Pro-Am title in Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East.

With this four-man crew, Lionspeed returns to the Gulf 12 Hours for the first time since 2022, when a lineup featuring Kolb secured a top-five finish in Pro-Am when the race was still held as a round of the IGTC. Now back to its traditional, independent setup, the Middle Eastern enduro will feature a unique format. The twelve-hour race will be broken up into two segments, with the opening eight hours followed by a break of two-hours. After this, the remaining two hours will be completed.

The race will serve as the final chapter of Lionspeed GP’s debut season as an independent GT racing outfit. During its first season operating without external support, the team enjoyed success in the Nürburgring 24 with a Pro-Am class win, survived and reached the finish line in a grueling centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Spa and captured a class podium in GT World Challenge Europe’s Bronze Cup class.