Muscat – The Al Manar by Dragon Racing Team’s Al Faisal Al Zubair and Dennis Marschall overcame the handicap of a lack of top speed on one of the fastest race circuits in the world to earn a top-10 finish at the demanding Monza GT Open 500 in Italy on Sunday.

The duo struggled to get maximum top end performance out of their Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO at the ‘Temple of Speed’ but were able to move up from a qualifying position of 12th to finish 10th in the last of the endurance races in the 2026 International GT Open.

“We finished the last race of the programme (International GT Open). We came into the weekend on the back foot knowing that we struggled with the BoP (Balance of Performance). There was only so much we could do,” said Al Zubair.

“At the start of the race we gained a few positions but once the race got going, with the top speed we had and the straight-line speed we were losing, there was only so much we could do. It was not the best weekend. Hopefully, we can be more competitive at the next one.

“I had Dennis Marschall with me, who is the GT World Challenge champion and one of the top drivers, and he also struggled the whole weekend. I guess that goes to prove that we both struggled with the car more than anything,” added the Omani.

Al Zubair and his 30-year-old German team-mate took it in turns to drive a pair of stints apiece in the 87-lap race on the 5.793km circuit, with Al Zubair running from the start before handing over to Marschall for his first stint. Al Zubair then took the wheel for his second session and Marschall brought the car safely to the finish in 10th place.

Victory in the endurance race went to the Scuderia Villorba Corde Lamborghini duo of Leonardo Moncini and Rodrigo Testa. The Greystone GT McLaren of Zac Meakin and Dean Macdonald came home second.