Abu Dhabi: Motorsport is an activity that requires great speed of thought to match the blistering place at which it is undertaken.
Immense concentration and impeccable physical fitness are also pre-requisites to drive a fast car competitively, and such qualities inevitably diminish with the onrushing years.
But one UAE racer who has advanced beyond middle age insists his veteran status poses no barrier to engaging in wheel-to-wheel combat with much younger men.
Fifty-nine-year-old American Bill Martin is the oldest competitor in the TRD 86 Cup, which is taking place for the second year at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and which is held over six race weekends until April.
Martin is 40 years older than the youngest driver in the competition, which involves everyone driving the same Toyota GT86 car, and the oldest by 15 years, but is utterly unfazed by this and is determined to prove his worth.
“I am the oldest competitor, it’s a fact,” he told Gulf News. “I don’t argue with facts. But I don’t think about that at all, quite honestly.
“What I do know is that people who are passionate about automobiles and racing, it really does not have much to do with age. I know other guys older than I am who remain fierce competitors in motorsport.
“When I am behind the wheel, I feel 15 years old.”
Several weeks ago, Martin was pleased to finish ninth out of 10th in the opening round of the TRD 86 Cup.
The Abu Dhabi-based hedge-fund manager said: “It was my very first race and the fact that I started and finished in one piece, I achieved my objective. Also I did not finish in last place, so I achieved my second objective. I thoroughly enjoyed myself; it was a perfect day.”
Of the visceral thrill he experienced racing around the home of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the New Yorker added: “Quite honestly, when you’re sitting on the grid and they’ve got the flags going and people are checking your tyres, you’re looking around and there are cars in front of you cars behind you and cars next to you, and everyone turns on their engines, as you can imagine your heart starts pounding and it’s just the thrill of the race. At the first corner, you realise this is not a drive in the park, people are racing and it’s just a thrill.”
Martin said the greatest lesson he had learned from his racing debut was that making a good start on the first lap is imperative.
With this salutary experience under his belt, Martin is confident of improvement in the months to come.
He said: “By the end of the season, I want to be right in the heat of the pack. My objective is not to finish first or second, or third. I know I will have cars in front of me, I know I will have cars behind me.
“I will be fighting from beginning to end.”
The American did not have a significant motorsport background – “No-one owns a car in New York City” – but his interest in racing was fuelled when he joined a Porsche racing club when he lived in Europe.
He is a member of the Dubai-based Ferrari owners’ club, which led to him spending time at Yas Marina Circuit and learning about the TRD 86 Cup.
Martin, who cites the late Ayrton Senna, the three-time Formula One world champion, as his motorsport hero, said: “Everyone has the same car and you meet Formula One standards in terms of testing, qualifying and racing. It’s very organised as you require a racing licence, you require a physical, which to me means everyone’s safety is the first concern.
“I just thought this was the type of programme for me.”
Does he have any other goals in the sport?
He replied: “I’ll see how my driving progresses and see how the programme evolves because, as we progress, things will probably get faster and the drivers will get more competitive. My plan is to stay with the programme and participate with the evolution.
“Once you’re on a circuit, you realise how technical driving is and that very little is to do with how fast you an go in a straight line. I really appreciate the technical side of it.”
In addition to the TRD 86 Cup, Yas Marina Circuit’s Yas Racing Series also includes the Formula Gulf 1000, the UAE’s national single-seater championship, featuring cars with identical slicks and wings, as well as the established NGK Racing Series and the MRF Racing Series.
Can these events, in addition to the Abu Dhabi GP, help nurture an Emirati motorsport star of the future?
Martin said: “All I can do is talk on behalf of Abu Dhabi and Dubai and I see a tremendous amount of interest [in motorsport]. On the road you see a lot of beautiful and very fast cars and people can learn to appreciate fast cars on a circuit.
“I would hope that this type of competition would become quite popular in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”
For more information on season two of the TRD 86 Cup, visit www.yasmarinacircuit.com.
