Challenging season opener for Matteo Cairoli in Dubai

The Dubai circuit hosted the traditional Michelin 24 Hours of Dubai, the opening round of the 2026 24H Series organised by Creventic. Matteo Cairoli returned to the cockpit just two months after the end of his 2025 racing commitments, taking part in the event at the wheel of the No.81 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO run by Winward Racing, alongside Rinat Salikhov, Gabriele Piana and Marvin Dienst, competing in the GT3 category.

The driver from Como had already contested the 24 Hours of Dubai on four occasions, in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022, achieving his best result with an overall second place in 2017 driving for Manthey Porsche. Qualifying consisted of three sessions, which saw the Winward Racing crew secure sixth place overall thanks to a combined lap time of 1:57.193. Cairoli took part in the third session, setting a best lap of 1:56.532.

The start of the race was entrusted to Gabriele Piana, who had to fend off attacks from rival cars in the early stages. Over the following hours, the crew remained consistently inside the top ten, even taking turns at the front of the field alongside the other leading contenders. Unfortunately, during the night and around seven hours after the green flag, the Winward Racing Mercedes was forced to retire due to a hub failure that caused the loss of the right-rear wheel. The incident occurred while Marvin Dienst was at the wheel and the car was running third overall, bringing an early and bitter end to a race in which the team had shown the pace to fight for victory.

Despite the unfortunate outcome, the Dubai race proved useful for Cairoli to get back into action after the winter break, ahead of the 2026 season. The Italian driver demonstrated strong speed both in qualifying and in race conditions, as he now turns his focus to the next challenge on his schedule, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.