UAE National Racing: Dubai Autodrome gears up for last race weekend in 2011

Nov 23rd, 2011 –The final UAE National Race Day of the calendar year at Dubai Autodrome takes place this weekend (Friday, 25 November) with a varied menu of races, including: round four of the Motorcity UAE Sportbikes, round three of the NGK UAE GT Championship, round three of the Formula Gulf 1000 and the season opening race for the Suzuki Swift Cup.

The event is officially part of the ‘Spirit of the Union’ nationwide celebrations, which is a source of pride for Dubai Autodrome Chairman Ali Fardan Al Fardan who commented, “We are privileged and honoured to have this race meeting officially part of the ‘Spirit of the Union’ marking the culmination of 40 years as a modern and progressive nation.”

“This is my first year on the scene and I can say I am very impressed with the commitment and dedication shown by the local motorsport community, which embodies the spirit of devotion that has been a trait of our country over the last 40 years – everywhere we look, in the UAE, the vision of 40 years ago is being delivered and built upon – the progress of motorsport is no exception under the astute leadership of Mr Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Vice President of the FIA and President of the ATCUAE,” said Mr Fardan.

In the first two NGK UAE GT races the AUH Motorsport run Ferrari 458 Italia of Leon Price and Rob Barff have proven to be the class of the field and the question is: who can beat this superb outfit?

On Friday the Ferrari will be facing a pair of Gulf Racing Lamborghini LP560s with Fabien Giroix and Frederic Fatien sharing one car, and Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall sharing the second car. The two car team will be going all out to end the Price/Barff domination of the series, particularly the GTA class. Rafael Unzurrunzaga makes a welcome return to the GT trail, this time at the wheel of the Blue Jumeirah Team Mosler GT600.

The GTC Class has been dominated by the Yas Marina backed Aston Martin pairing of Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum and Saeed Al Mehairi, but this time out they will not be on the grid due to a foot ligament injury suffered by a Al Mehairi and the absence of Sheikh Hasher. This leaves John Iossifidis and Martin Baerschmidt in their Aston Martin Vantage to fend off the Emal Racing Porsche shared by Ray Bignell and Graeme Hannah.

The Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship 600 Class has developed into a two way battle between Vendetta Racing team mates Alan Boyter and Mahmoud Tannir on their identical Triumphs battling it out for the top step of the podium.

Tannir has scored four wins out of six and leads the championship standings by four points from team mate Boyter who has two wins to his credit.

Not far off the leaders there should be an almighty tussle between the likes of Joe Oxley (Kawasaki ZX6R), Steve Blackney (Honda CBR600RR), Omar Naji (Kawasaki ZX6R) and Erikas Savickas (Yamaha YZF R6).

In the inaugural Rookie Cup series Chris Morley (Kawasaki ZX6R) has yet to be beaten and has amassed six wins out of six races. He will be chased hard by the likes of Ian Wilcox (Honda CBR600RR), Surya Raja (Yamaha YZF R6) and Jonathan Arnup (Suzuki GSXR600.

In the 1000 Class Gernot Dobida, riding the Honda CBR1000R, should have his hands full with Nasser Al Shaiba on the BMW S1000RR and returning Damien Van Blerk on the Ducati 1198R.

Formula Gulf 1000 will be running their third championship round on Friday and Mohammed Al Dhaheri, who won the inaugural race, will be absent from the next event as he represents the UAE in the Rotax Karting World Finals in Al Ain.

Lebanon’s top young driver Joe Ghanem won Rounds 2 and 4, and Indian racer Zaamin Jaffer took the top step on the podium for Round 3 proving that it will not be easy for any one driver to dominate the series. Also in contention should be the likes of Mohammed al Mutawaa, Haytham Al Ali, Harsh Rajpal and lady racer Natasha Seatter.

The first round of the Suzuki Swift Cup takes place on the day, and to kick off this new season Galotti Team Motorsport have upgraded the race cars to the latest 1.6 Litre engines capable of producing 172 BHP. In the past the series has always provided some of the closest racing and much of the same is expected as drivers battle it out in identical cars.

Racing on Friday starts at 11.25am and entry to Dubai Autodrome is free, with access to the grandstand and race paddock where fans get unprecedented access to competitors and their machinery.

Race Day Programme

11:25 – Race 1            Formula Gulf 1000 – Race 1: 12 Laps

11:50                               Lunch and Prayers Break

13:00 – Race 2            MotorCity UAE Sportbikes – Race 1: 12 Laps

13:35 – Race 3            Suzuki Swift Cup – Race 1 10 Laps

14:10 – Race 4            NGK UAE GT Championship – Race: 60 minutes

15:25 – Race 5            MotorCity UAE Sportbikes – Race 2: 12 Laps

16:00 – Race 6            Formula Gulf 1000 – Race 2: 12 Laps

16:35 – Race 7            Suzuki Swift – Race 2: 10 Laps

 

Online Timetable Here (opens new window)

Press release from Dubai Autodrome