• Login
  • Register
Speedcafe.com
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • PODS
  • PHOTOS
  • RESULTS
  • NETWORK 100
No Result
View All Result
  • SUPERCARS
  • F1
  • MOTOGP
  • NASCAR
  • INDYCAR
  • GT & ENDURANCE
  • KARTING
  • RALLY
  • SPEEDWAY
  • JOBS
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • PODS
  • PHOTOS
  • RESULTS
  • NETWORK 100
No Result
View All Result
  • Feed
  • Calendar
  • Results
  • Photos
  • Podcasts
  • Shop
Speedcafe.com
  • Supercars
  • F1
  • NASCAR
  • IndyCar
  • GT & Endurance
  • Karting
  • Bikes
  • Rally
  • Speedway
Home GT & Endurance

Groves take Gulf 12 Hours podium, Tigani quartet win class

The father-son duo of Stephen Grove and Brenton Grove have claimed third in the Gulf 12 Hours at the Yas Marina Circuit with factory Mercedes-AMG star Jules Gounon.

Simon Chapman
Simon Chapman
15 Dec 2025
Simon Chapman
//
15 Dec 2025
// GT & Endurance
A A
0
Groves take Gulf 12 Hours podium, Tigani quartet win class
The Grove Racing by GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Stephen Grove, Brenton Grove, and Jules Gounon.

Motopark-run Mercedes-AMG team CapitalRT took the outright win with Denis Remenyako, former IndyCar driver Mikhail Aleshin, and Adam Christodoulou.

They completed 346 laps of the Abu Dhabi circuit, and finished 1:32.190s ahead of their nearest rivals Al Faisal Al Zubair, Ben Tuck, and Christopher Froggatt for AlManar by Dragon.

The GetSpeed-run Grove Racing trio finished one lap down, and nearly two minutes clear of fourth-placed Optimum Motorsport trio Todd Coleman, Aaron Telitz, and Ben Barnicoat.

“It’s such an unpredictable race,” said Brenton Grove.



“It’s really hard to know [if we would finish on the podium]. If we executed well, it was always going to be an opportunity, and we did.

Advertisements

“The car was flawless, the strategy was great, no issues all day. We got a result that’s really, really fun.”

Tigani Motorsport driver Jayden Ojeda (from left) with Marcel Zalloua, Sergio Pires, and Brendon Leitch on the podium at the Gulf 12 Hours.

Tigani Motorsport driver Jayden Ojeda (from left) with Marcel Zalloua, Sergio Pires, and Brendon Leitch on the podium at the Gulf 12 Hours.

Tigani Motorsport’s Jayden Ojeda, Brendon Leitch, Sergio Pires, and Marcel Zalloua scored sixth overall and first in Pro-Am, surviving a late scare when the splitter failed in the final hour.

They finished 15.308s ahead of the Enrico Fulgenzi Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Enrico Fulgenzi, Alessandro Giannone, and Andrea Girondi.

“The guys were pretty confident that they had done the best that they could with the situation we were in,” said Leitch.

“Marcel was doing a really, really good job at the end. Incredible laps, considering the condition at the end of the race for us.

“It was just really important that he brought it home. Jayden was just talking to him every lap on the radio, trying to keep him calm and guide him through it all.

“They both did a perfect job. All the guys have done an amazing job this weekend, and Tigani have given us an amazing car. Just unlucky with that failure at the end there.

“Other than that, the car has been a machine all weekend long.”

Ojeda added: “Awesome from the boys to have a solid 12-hour race. Awesome job by the team, all the adversity we faced throughout the race, overcame it and put together a really good race.”

The Geyer Valmon-backed Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 during the Gulf 12 Hours.

The Geyer Valmon-backed Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 during the Gulf 12 Hours.

The 12-hour race was split into two segments, with the AlManar by Dragon squad leading with its Ferrari 296 at the eight-hour break.

They ended the first leg 12.931s ahead of Winward Racing’s Rinat Salikhov, Gabrie le Piana, and Marvin Dienst, who went on to finish fifth.

However, the AlManar by Dragon squad suffered two significant setbacks in the final four hours that took them out of the race lead.

The first blow was when they copped a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and then they were forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to top up the Ferrari 296 brake fluid.

The race-winning CapitalRT by Motopark team survived a bruising race, winning despite damage to the floor of the Mercedes-AMG.

“The last part of the race obviously went perfectly,” said Christodoulou.

“I was going to say, the first part we just stayed out of trouble, but we seemed to get tangled in other people’s mistakes and we got turned around twice.

“In the end, we just kept on pushing. We pitted when we needed to. The strategy was good. The guys did a brilliant job with that, and these guys drove brilliantly as well.

“Just never giving up mentality, this is how we’ve ended up on the podium with the win. The best way to finish a season. Hopefully we can go into the start of next year and do the same.”

CLICK HERE for Gulf 12 Hours results



Tags: brenton grovegrovegrove racingstephen grovetigani

Discussion about this post

[postcode_search_form]

Latest from Torquecafe

Electric pickups set to die another death

22 April 2026

Another Toyota Prado-fighting Ford confirmed

22 April 2026

Latest Podcasts

PODCAST: Debriefing the Dustbowl

21 April 2026

PODCAST: Christchurch Super440 daily – Sunday

19 April 2026

Related Articles

Matt Campbell's Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R at the Nurburgring.

How Australia’s best fared in blockbuster GT weekend

GT & Endurance
2 days ago
GT & Endurance
0
Max Verstappen's Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Nurburgring. Image: Supplied

Verstappen denied Nurburgring win by surprising failure

F1
3 days ago
F1
0
ADVERTISEMENT

Platinum Partners

Latest & Trending News

Ari Pettigrew's Porsche 911 GT3 rally car.

Why crazy Kiwi turned a Porsche 911 GT3 into a rally weapon

Rally
22 April 2026
Rally
0
Walkinshaw TWG Racing co-driver Fabian Coulthard.

Coulthard headlines Australian Endurance Championship entry

National
22 April 2026
National
0
David Reynolds at the Christchurch Super440

Team 18 fuel issue led to ‘basically impossible’ race

Supercars
22 April 2026
Supercars
0
Ryan Wood at Taupo.

Ryan Wood to race Ford Mustang in TA2 debut

Supercars
22 April 2026
Supercars
0

VIDEO: Building the Supercheap Auto Racing Silverado

Favourite Flick
22 April 2026
Favourite Flick
0
Andre Heimgartner at the Christchurch Super440

BJR ‘moving problems around’ amid Supra struggle

Supercars
22 April 2026
Supercars
0

Supercheap Auto

Pirtek Poll

POLL: Did Christchurch deliver on its Supercars debut?

Vote View Results Past polls
Pirtek Poll
View past polls
2026 Supercars Championship WINS POLES PTS
1
Broc Feeney
Red Bull Ampol Racing
88 3 2 925
2
Brodie Kostecki
Shell V-Power Racing Team
17 5 3 902
3
Matthew Payne
Penrite Racing
19 2 2 879
4
Cam Waters
Monster Castrol Racing
6 0 0 787
5
Kai Allen
Penrite Racing
26 1 0 728
2026 Formula 1 Championship WINS POLES PTS
1
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
12 2 2 72
2
George Russell
Mercedes
63 1 1 63
3
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
16 0 0 49
4
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
44 0 0 41
5
Lando Norris
McLaren
1 0 0 25
ADVERTISEMENT
[instagram-feed feed=2]
Support the partners that support Speedcafe
Truck Assist R & J Batteries Mobil 1 Supercheap Auto Michelin
Meguiars Coates KTM ACDelco
AASA PPQ Authentic Collectables Nueva Fastly
Green and white "speedcafe." logo on a black background, conveying a racing theme.
Speedcafe.com has been established to provide a daily motorsport news service to the industry and fans in Australia and internationally.
Follow Us

Categories

SUPERCARS

F1

NASCAR

INDYCAR

GT

MOTOGP

PHOTOS

TV

PODS

Platinum Partners

TRUCK ASSIST
R&J BATTERIES
MOBIL1
SUPERCHEAP AUTO

MICHELIN
MEGUIARS

COATES

ACDELCO

Newsletter

Subscribe to our daily newsletter, the best way to get your news first, fast and free!

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Your daily racing fix - Newsletter

Subscribe to our daily and breaking newsletter for all the latest news delivered direct to your box

SUBSCRIBE
Follow Us

Categories

SUPERCARS

F1

NASCAR

INDYCAR

GT

MOTOGP

PHOTOS

TV

PODS

Platinum Partners

TRUCK ASSIST
R&J BATTERIES
PIRTEK
MOBIL1
SUPERCHEAP AUTO

PARCEL PROTECT

MICHELIN
MEGUIARS

COATES
FORD

XPEL

ACDELCO

Green and white "speedcafe." logo on a black background, conveying a racing theme.

Copyright © 2026 Speedcafe.com. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Our Team /  Advertise with us / Comments Policy / Privacy Policy /

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Calendar
  • Results
  • Event guides
  • Podcasts
  • Shop
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Network 100

Copyright © 2025 Speedcafe.com This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Calendar
  • Results
  • Event guides
  • Podcasts
  • Shop
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Network 100

Copyright © 2025 Speedcafe.com This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

[mailpoet_form id=”28″]