Al Qubaisi shared driving duties with David Heinemeier Hansson (Denmark) and Patrick Long (USA) behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 RSR.

The team from the capital climbed from P3 to P1 and led for most of the first 12 hours of the race.

However, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing slipped to second and as the hours ticked away Al Qubaisi & Co. was engaged in a fierce battle with the No.62 Ferrari.

In the closing stages of the race, Abu Dhabi battled for second and eventually settled for P3 instead of jeopardising the team’s chances of finishing on the podium.

Al Qubaisi kept the team in the hunt for a podium place, pitting with four hours to go and handing over the wheel to Patrick Long, with David Heinemeier Hansson, who had earlier given the team a flying start, bringing the car home safely in third.

Al Qubaisi said: “It is always great to be racing at Le Mans, and just finishing the race is an achievement in itself and being on the podium is indeed an honour.

“Obviously, we are a little disappointed as we could have finished higher. Having said that, we had a good race overall but the low temperatures did affect the performance of our tyres. Nevertheless, finishing in P3 is still a big achievement for the team.”

The team clocked 330 laps at an average speed of 206.2/km with a best lap of 3:57.989 over the 24-hour endurance race. The team did a total of 23 pit stops.

Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing are next in action at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring in Germany on July 24.