ADTA driver Jassim Al Shamsi battles in his toughest Radical Masters race at Hungaroring

Jaasim Al Shamsi in the Team Abu Dhabi Radical SR3, he finished fourth in the Supersport class.

Budapest: 24 Aug 2010: ADTA backed Jaasim Al Shamsi endured one of his most trying weekends at the Hungaroring Grand Prix Circuit in Budapest, in the fourth round of the Radical European Masters.

Expectations were high for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) backed Al Shamsi, fresh from a sensational third in class finish at the Zandvoort track last month, much was expected from the young Emirati in Budapest.

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Al Shamsi, racing his SR3 in the Supersport class, although crashing in practice, he managed eleventh overall and fourth in class in the first race, however he failed to finish the second race.

A disspointed Al Shamsi after several altercation in Hungary

“There was so much anticipation going into this weekend and I was eager to prove that I am still learning. Hungaroring is meant to be difficult for overtaking but I proved it can be done. We only have one more race before we head home to Abu Dhabi so I want to learn as much as I can and am determined to be on the podium again, this time on the top!” said Al Shamsi, who during practice spun and was hit by another car which damaged his Radical beyond repair for the weekend ahead.

With his first choice vehicle badly damaged, the Abu Dhabi driver jumped into the spare car. Qualifying however proved problematic for Al Shamsi as he encountered gear selection problems in the unfamiliar Radical and had to settle for 13^th place on the grid for the first race and 9^th on the grid for race two.

In race two Al Shamsi managed a better start from ninth place and steadily moved up to third in class, with lap times showing him to be the second quickest. Bad luck struck again as he collided with a rival just three laps from the finish, ending his race on the spot.

AUH Motorsport, Team Abu Dhabi’s sister squad, had a weekend which started on a high but ended in disappointment. Bassam Kronfli qualified third for the first race while Jordan Grogor grabbed pole position for race two. In both races the duo were running strongly in second place, keeping pace with the leaders, but on each occasion their progress was hampered by mechanical ction issues and brake problems. Bassam and Grogor finished fifth overall in race one and seventh in race two.