Saad Salman and Jordan Grogor on the podium

Dubai, UAE. 26 November 2010:  After an exhilarating UAE GT race this weekend at the Dubai Autodrome, Sayel Racing –sponsored by PEC (Palestine Electric Company) and Morganti – managed a hard earned third place finish in GTC class, taking home their first podium victory of the season.

Qualifying in 3rd place earlier that morning, the young team were already abuzz with talks of a podium finish before the race started. This result however did not come easy. With team driver Saad Salman suffering from an ankle injury, a last minute decision to bring in fellow driver Jordan Grogor to share the one hour long race was what swayed the team into even participating in this leg of the championship. “Most teams already have two race drivers” explained Salman “while we brought Jordan in out of necessity due to my injury, it was a decision we won’t soon forget. He’s a great driver and we are very happy to share this experience with him.”

Sayel Racing National Raceday 4 Nov 26th at Dubai Autodrome - Image Darren Rycroft at anysportphotos.com

With Grogor starting off the first half of the race for Sayel Racing, he was quickly able to set the fastest lap of the race in GTC and catch second place. Unfortunately overtaking the leading Maserati of Robert Cregan proved difficult and allowed for some exciting racing with the top four cars separated by no more than a second.

During the second half of the race, Salman’s job was to defend their position. Briefly slipping to 4th place, he was able to better his lap times progressively throughout his half hour stint to regain 3rd place and cross the finish line. “We are very happy with the result” said team coordinator Sima Farouki. “It’s our first podium finish and we are so proud of our team. We already have our sights set on some more podium victories, it’s a wonderful feeling.”

With plans to celebrate their result later that evening, news of the passing of motorcycle racer Pascal Grosjean after a collision with fellow race driver Tony Jordan at the Dubai Autodrome shocked the team, and the mood quickly shifted from joy to sadness. “It’s a terrible tragedy, our thoughts and prayers go out to Pascal’s family and we wish Tony Jordan, who is in critical condition, a full and speedy recovery.” said Salman.

For more information and to follow the teams progress, you can visit their website at www.sayelracing.com and join their Facebook fan page, Keywords: Sayel Racing