Watch | Days after practice crash, actor Ajith’s team gets 3rd spot in 24-hour endurance race at Dubai

CHENNAI: Ajith Kumar’s team secured the third spot in the 2025 Michelin Dubai 24 Hour endurance racing event with several videos showing the jubilant actor waving the Indian flag and holding their trophy. The win comes days after he faced a car crash during one of the practice sessions which initially led him to consider stepping back from the event.

In a now-deleted tweet posted on social media platform X, his manager Suresh Chandra said, "Double whammy for Ajith Kumar: 3rd place in the 991 category and Spirit of the race in the GT4 category. What a remarkable comeback after an accident due to a break failure."

Videos featuring Ajith and his team celebrating their victory have gone viral. There is also a video of the actor running up to the stage with the Indian flag in his hands to receive the trophy.

Actor R Madhavan too congratulated his colleague with a social media post saying: “So so proud.. what a man. The one and only. Ajith Kumar.” In the picture accompanying the post, he is seen hugging Ajith after the event. The latter is wearing his racing costume and holding a green flag. Ajith’s wife Shalini and their children, Anoushka and Aadvik, were also present at the venue.

On January 7, during the last leg of his practice session, the 53-year-old Ajith had encountered a turn with limited visibility, leading to a slight shift in control and a spin-off crash. In a short clip of the incident, Ajith’s car was seen crashing into the barriers at high speed. In the next shot, the actor is seen getting out of the vehicle, seemingly without any injury.

Post the crash, an official statement said that the actor and motorsport enthusiast was going to “step back from driving for Ajith Kumar Racing in the upcoming Dubai 24H Series.” It then added that there would be an adjustment in the actor’s racing schedule, keeping in mind his wellbeing. “In a unique and bold move, he will take on a dual role serving as the owner of Ajith Kumar Racing by Bas Koeten in the Porsche 992 Cup Car (Number 901), while competing as a driver for Ajith Kumar Racing by Razoon in Porsche Cayman GT4 (Number 414) in the event,” his team said.

The actor who had launched his racing team Ajith Kumar Racing in September last year participated in the event alongside teammates Mathieu Detry, Fabian Duffieux, and Cameron McLeod. Held annually at the Dubai Autodrome, the Michelin 20th 24H Dubai championship features high-performance GT and touring cars competing in a gruelling 24-hour format that tests speed, strategy and endurance.

Meanwhile, Ajith, in an interview, to a television channel on Thursday said that he would not be signing any new films until the racing season was on and that he would be doing a film between October and March, before the racing season commenced.

Ajith is awaiting the release of his next two feature films –- Vidaamuyarchi and Good Bad Ugly.

(With inputs from agencies)