Sheikh Hasher’s Corvette ZR1 in the Street class took overall lap record

The maiden Extreme Super Lap race event was held at the South configuration of the Yas Marina Circuit and was deemed an instant success by both the organizers and the participants. A great number of street and race cars provided exciting action while battling to clock their fastest lap times on one of the best race tracks in the world.

Time attack styled events have enjoyed massive popularity around the world, starting from Japan where the events were conceived as a proving ground for street tuner cars.

Extreme Motorsports founder Abdulla Al Zaabi decided to introduce it in the region under the ‘Extreme Super Lap’ moniker.

The format of the Extreme Super Lap is based on ‘timed lap’ principles where a car is released onto the track and first performs a warm-up lap, followed by three flying laps and a cool-down lap. The best lap time is taken for the classification and special honor is given to either the fastest time of the day or a new lap record.

Race cars are divided into four main categories, namely Street, Super Street, Modified and Super Modified, according to the levels of modification and race preparation. Each class allows a different level of modification aimed at improving the car’s on-track performance and safety is an important aspect of the cars’ preparation.

The first round of the Extreme Super Lap brought us exciting battles throughout the classes and some of the fastest street and race cars around. As expected, all the eyes were on the duo of Emarati race drivers, Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum and Khalid Al Qubaisi competing in the Street Class, with the former grabbing the class win and clocking the fastest time of the day at the wheel of his Corvette ZR1, with Al Qubaisi a close second racing a Porsche GT3. Sheikh Hasher’s time of 1:08.034 stands as the first lap record of the Extreme Super Lap and represents a benchmark for the coming events.

Khalid Al Qubaisi a close second racing a Ferrari 458

Stu Leihsman grabbed the top honours in the AWD Street Class with his Evolution VIII, setting a class-leading time of 1:16.320, while Ahmad Al Obaidly at the wheel of the Cadillac CTS-V won the RWD V8 class and Naji Al Musabi in the Nissan 370Z, the RWD V6 class.

In the Super Street Class FWD, Abdulrahman Siksek steered his Seat Leon to a class win with a time of 1:17.424 ahead of Rupesh Chanaka in a Honda Civic. Mazin Al Shaibani’s black EVO 6 had no competition in the AWD class while novice racer Salem Tabei in a Honda S2000 surprised Lotfi Aichour and Fahad Al Ghazali to win the RWD class.

Modified classes are dedicated to pure race cars, featuring the mandatory FIA safety, including roll cages, fire extinguishers, circuit breakers and full driver safety gear. The Modified class is only allowed to run semi-slick tyres while the Super Modified allows slick tyres and unlimited modifications. In the Modified Class, Zlatko Mulabegovic clocked 1:12.732 at the wheel of the Extreme Performance EVO X and snatched the class win from Saeed Al Mehairi who drove the Nissan 370Z also prepared by Extreme. In the Super Modified Class, lots was expected from Fadi Bikawi’s monster Evo, but technical problems prevented Fadi from attacking the lap record. In his absence, Ahmad Arafat dominated the class with the best lap time of 1:14.514 and took his bright red Evo VI to the top spot, followed by Faisal Omar and Mohammed Al Falasi.

Zlatko Mulabegovic clocked 1:12.732 at the wheel of the Extreme Performance EVO X

The Extreme Super Lap was organized by Extreme Performance from Abu Dhabi and it was sanctioned by the Automobile Touring Club of the UAE. The event was supported by Pirelli, HKS, CUSCO, Motor Sport Wheels and Land of Holidays.

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