Kawasaki rider Abdulaziz Binladen scored a double win on the day at Dubai Autodrome
Dubai, 14 Nov 14: Dubai Autodrome hosted the first UAE national race day of the season at the venue, with NGK Racing Series, UAE Sportbike Championship and Formula Gulf 1000 Championship races on Friday.
There were six championship races on the day, two for each series, with Andy Marshall in the GulfSport prepared Radical and Tani Hanni in the Dragon Racing run Ferrari sharing a win apiece in the NGK Racing Series.
NGK Racing Series class winners (L to R) Tani Hanna, Andy Marshall, Costas Papantonis and Alexandros Annivas
Costas Papantonis won both the Touring Car Class 1 races in his Gulf Petrochem SEAT, with teammate Alexandros Annivas scoring a double win on the day in Class 2 in his Gulf Petrochem Renault Clio.
Reigning UAE Sportbike champion Abdulaziz Binladen aboard a Kawasaki started his 2014-2015 campaign in the best way possible by winning both 600 Class races on the day, while his arch-rival and former champion Mahmoud Tannir on a Honda crashed out in race one but recovered to finish second in the race two.
UAE Sportbikes 600 Class Race 2 podium (L to R) Second placed Mahmoud Tannir, winner Abdulaziz Binladen and Nasir Hussain
Binladen said afterwards: “It was a good day for us. Winning both races is a good way to start the title defence, and we hope to keep the momentum going throughout the year. It was great to be racing again at the Autodrome after a long break between seasons.”
BMW mounted Alan Boyter and Honda rider Gernot Dobida shared a win each – race one and race two respectively – in the 1000 Class.
Formula Gulf 1000 Race 1 podium (L to R) GulfSport team principal Barry Hope with second placed Tejas Hirani, winner Edi Haxhiu and third placed Mashur Bal Hejaila
Edi Haxhiu bagged maximum points in race one of the Formula Gulf 1000 after early leader Ahmad Al Ghanim retired with an engine problem, however he recovered to take victory in race two with Haxhiu finishing second.
One of the highlights of the day was the off-track activities such as bungee jumping, a swap meet, Red Bull stunt performers, motorcycle track day sessions and a number of children’s which attracted an enthusiastic crowd who were able to mingle with race drivers, riders and teams.
Next race day at Dubai Autodrome is on the weekend of 4-6 December and will feature races for: NGK Racing Series, UAE Sportbikes, Formula Gulf 1000, Radical Middle East Cup and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.
