UAE’s Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing wins 24-Hour Hankook series title

UAE's Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing team stunned the racing world by winning the 24-Hour Hankook series title after a second-place place finish in Brno, Czech Republic.

“We don’t drive racing cars, we drive desks,” said Ramzi Moutran in the aftermath of one of the greatest sporting achievements.

Comprising of three brothers, English driver Phil Quaife, manager and sister Natasha Moutran and headed by father Eddie, the Lebanese family, based in Dubai, UAE, started endurance racing as a family hobby just eight years ago.

Last week, having just won their respective class in Barcelona, they went into the final race in Brno with an outside chance of winning the entire series if they could cross the line in the top two.
 
“We didn’t get off to the best start,” said Ramzi Moutran. “Having already won the A3T class in Barcelona, we just decided to enjoy the final race and forget about the overall championship. But as the race went on, we gradually made up time and began climbing up the rankings until we found ourselves in second place.”
 
Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing finished the race just behind the leader, accumulating 120 points over the season, clinching a historic title.

The four drivers also snapped up the second to fifth place awards for individual drivers, after Chantal Kroll was awarded the top spot.
 
Their four significant top two finishes, combined with a third place finish at Paul Richard, were enough to pip German Hofo-Kueperracing and British RAM Racing by just three points, who claimed a joint second finish.
 
The champions pointed to the Dubai 24 hour race in January as a significant moment of the season, having won their home competition for the first time.

The Dubai Autodrome, where the UAE leg of the series is held, is of great importance to the team, who learned their racing on that very circuit.
 
“Since its creation, we have called the Dubai Autodrome our second home,” said Ramzi. “Family barbecues, gatherings and parties weren’t held on the beach, they were held in the pit lane of the track.”
 
Sami Moutran added: “We owe a lot to Dubai. Its desire to build world-class racing infrastructure, and support all levels of racing is what gave us the opportunity to grow and learn; turning us from hobbyists into champions.”
 
With that victory in the bag, it took another first place finish in Barcelona, as well as two second place finishes in Mugello and Brno, to grant them the championship.
 
The brothers dedicated the victory to their father, Lebanese national and team owner, Eddie Moutran.
 
Moutran had been present for a number of significant races throughout the season, but wasn’t able to travel to Brno for the final outing.
 
“He was on the phone the entire time. He was right there when we crossed the line,” claimed Nabil Moutran. “This victory is really for him; none of this would have or could have been possible if it wasn’t for the effort, support and encouragement of Eddie - of dad.”
 
Eddie Moutran also holds the role of CEO and Chairman of the agency the brothers run, and that’s exactly where they had to return the day after the championship winning race.
 
“We have responsibilities here,” Sami commented. “Today, we are back to work in our full time professions, but we take so much from the track into our business day-to-day.”
 
Nabil reiterated the point, “As colleagues and brothers, we are very close,” he said. “That trust and connection we share, built over years, has shown itself to be so valuable on the race track as well as here in the office.”
 
The brothers hope to capitalise on the success of their series title, hoping it’s the start of something big.
 
“But it hasn’t sunk in yet, at all,” Sami admitted. “We hope this is the start of something, but right now we are just trying to come to terms with what we - our team of 22 fantastic people - have achieved.”

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