The trio of Patrick Long, David Heinemeier Hansson and Khaled Heinemeier Hansson teamed to take their second race win of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend at Bahrain, adding to their victory in Mexico City earlier in the year. Added to a 3rd place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #88 Abu Dhabi Proton team can say they’ve had a successful season; Heinemeier Hansson and Heinemeier Hansson finished 2nd in the GTE AM Driver’s Championship as well.
The cornerstone to the victory for Abu Dhabi Proton Racing was laid by Patrick Long. When he took over driving duties from his teammate Khaled Al Qubaisi after the first hour of racing on the 5.407-kilometre Grand Prix circuit on the outskirts of the capital of Manama, the #88 Porsche 911 RSR was running in fifth place. Thanks to a strong performance against stiff competition from Aston Martin, Chevrolet and Ferrari, the American made up two positions in his first laps with the winning racer from Weissach, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car. Shortly afterwards, he snatched the lead. With his teammates, he defended his top position to the flag in the hotly-contested class.
Patrick said, “It was a perfect race from start to finish for us. Everything ran really well, including the pit stop in the safety car phase, which definitely decided the race in our favour. My teammates again put in a strong drive and in the end it was my job to bring victory home safely.”
