Dubai 24: Marco Frezza race report

Frezza second in A5 class and ninth overall

A great second place in the A5 class and ninth overall is the final result of the 24 Hours of Dubai for Marco Frezza. Great satisfaction for the Italian driver and for his Duller Motorsport 1 team-mates, Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci, Alberto Cerrai and Federico Della Volta.

After the start, when they were already 20th overall and second in the class, the race wasn't trouble-free for the all-Italian team. After just five hours of the race, they were victim of a transmission shaft failure, repaired by the mechanics in just 40 minutes. Down over the 60th place overall, the # 8 team was then capable of a great comeback, which Marco took on during the crucial night phases with two stints and a total of five hours driving.

During his first stint, Marco accused strong vibrations to the car and the time adviced him to take a quiet pace. Then, in the pits, the mechanics solved the problem and the race went on with a fast but consistent pace, to avoid mechanical wear, given the long duration of the race.

Without losing 20 laps in the pits due to repairs, Frezza could have taken fourth or fifth overall. In the A5 class, instead, it was impossible to obtain more than the second place behind team Al Faisal Racing's BMW Z4, capable of performances as fast as the higher class cars.

"The team and my team-mates were all very professional and we did a faultless race," Marco explains. "To begin the season with such a result improves the morale and allows us to step into 2009 with the right foot."

-credit: frezzamarco.com