Dubai: The Dubai Autodrome has released the 2008-09 season race dates which include four international events, eight national events and a host of club activities.
Race fans and competitors are guaranteed an action-packed winter with the first event taking place in September 2008 and the final event in April 2009.
The jewel in the crown will be the two Grand Racing days from December 4 to 6 and February 26 to 28.
Like this year, the Speedcar Series and GP2 Asia will be run to decide the best drivers in Asia.
The December edition will have the added bonus of featuring the FIA GT3 series. Speedcar is sure to be a crowd puller if the inaugural season races are anything to go by.
Legendary former Formula One stars are likely to line-up against some young up-and-coming aces in what is poised to be a mouthwatering prospect for race fans.
GP2 Asia will feature the young guns of the future battling it out with their sights firmly set on a place on the Formula One grid. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Timo Glock all graduated through the GP2 ranks.
On January 8 to 10, the circuit will come alive with a 90-plus grid of cars, which will be out to contest the Toyo Tires 24 Hours of Dubai.
The endurance event has established itself as a fixture on the local and global motorsport calendar. Teams from across the world will descend on Dubai for the three-day extravaganza, and the growing number of participants confirms the popularity of this event.
"It is the perfect way to start the year's racing calendar, and we at Dubai Autodrome are proud to be hosting such a prestigious event and build on last year's success," said Saeed Khalfan, Chairman of the Dubai Autodrome.
The National Race Days are set to start with a Test and Media day on October 9 as a prelude to eight rounds of what promises to be one of the best seasons to date. The season proper gets underway on October 24 and will feature the UAE Touring Car Championship, the UAE Sportbike Championship and a sports car based series including the Gulf Radical Cup.
Dates for the popular DAMC Red Line Challenge have also been finalised with round one of the series on September 12.
2008/2009 Racing Calendar
- September 12: Red Line Challenge 1
- September 26: Red Line Challenge 2
- October 9: National Race Test & Media Day
- October 17: Red Line Challenge 3
- October 23: National Race Day Test
- October 24: National Race Day 1
- November 7: Red Line Challenge 4
- November 14-15: Dubai Motorsport Festival and International Circuit
- December 4-6: Grand Racing Event
- December 12: Red Line Challenge 5
- December 18: National Race Day Test
- December 19: National Race Day 3
- January 8-10: Toyo Tires 24-Hours of Dubai
- January 23: Red Line Challenge 6
- January 29: National Race Day Test
- January 30: National Race Day 4
- February 13: Red Line Challenge 7
- February 26-28: Grand Racing including National Race Day 5
- March 13: Red Line Challenge 8
- March 19: National Race Day Test
- March 20: National Race Day 6
- April 9: National Race Day Test
- April 10: National Race Day 7
- April 24-25: Speedcar and National Race Day 8
