Riding high on confidence following their victory at the 6 Hours of Mexico two weeks ago, Team Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing are now looking to close the gap further on FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) leaders, AF Corse.
Team Abu Dhabi go into the sixth round of the LMGTE AM championship with 94 points in second-place, 35 points behind AF Corse.
It is all to play for in Austin but the team from the UAE capital will need to build on their historic Mexico victory without regular driver Patrick Long.
Khaled Al Qubaisi will share driving duties with David Heinemeier Hansson of Denmark and Kevin Estre of France behind the wheel of the No.88 Porsche 911 RSR at the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin on September 17.
American driver Long misses out due to commitments in the Pirelli World Challenge, where he is currently leading in the championship.
Al Qubaisi is confident the team will cope without Long.
“Pat will be racing in the Pirelli World Challenge on the same weekend, where incidentally he is leading in the championship. So we have roped in Kevin Estre, who is also a Porsche factory driver,” said Al Qubaisi.
“I have known Kevin from my days in the Porsche Supercup going back to 2011. He is super-quick and a great person to work with. I look forward to race alongside him in Austin.
“Having said that, I know that we can close the gap even more to the leader in class and hopefully we will give it our best shot in Austin.”