Dubai: The House of Portier-sponsored TAM Auto Engineering Team will be rubbing their hands in delight after snatching multiple champion Karim Al Azhari from the Porsche Team for the new motorsport season.
Al Azhari — the only driver who has won a title each year since the Dubai Autodrome opened in 2005 — defected to the TAM Auto team in a Corvette for the new UAE GT Championships that gets under way on Friday.
"For me this was an opportunity to move ahead in my career. I recognised the strength of this team. It has good people at the top and they show true passion for the sport," Al Azhari told Gulf News.
"Besides, making such a move is good not just for me, but also for all concerned including the other competitors," he added.
Rare passion
Al Azhari is not your typical "hobby" driver. He shows a rare passion for the sport, something not seen so often, not at least in this part of the world.
"I think the secret lies in the fact that I rely on the barest of details. Other racers come to an event on a weekend, but for me I am too cued on to what I am going to be doing. So the entire week is spent going through each and every detail of the race. So I am not one who just shows up at the track. I am someone who is in total preparedness for a race at all times," Al Azhari said.
His passion for the sport is best depicted when one has a look at the clinical preparations he has had in a run-up to the new season. Most of his time last summer has been spent on the European circuit taking part in similar type of vehicles so as to prepare for the new season.
Al Azhari was a member of the German BMS Racing team for three rounds in a M3GTR car at the Nurburgring track followed by a 24-hour race in a Ford Mustang GT3 with Belgian outfit VDS Racing Adventures. And then he capped it off by participating in the 1,000km race in Palanga, Lithuania in a Nissan Z with the Auto Chemija team.
"My sole aim is to be in prime form at all times. The championships start from race one, so it is always helpful to be in a state of readiness always," he said.
"I have invested my time and energies to build up for this new season, and I feel confident of bringing in the results," he added.
Achievements
2005: Gulf Radical Cup Champion
2006: Gulf Radical Cup Champion
2007: Open Saloon Car Champion (Porsche)
2008: Open Saloon Car Champion (Porsche)
2009: UAE Touring Car Champion (Porsche)
