Dubai: Two races each for the UAE Sportscars, the UAE Sportsbikes and the Total UAE Touring Cars will be on offer at the opening round of the Dubai Autodrome Motoring Club (DAMC) UAE National Championships today.
There has been much anticipation ahead of the opening round of the UAE national road racing season that kicks off at Dubai Autodrome with some of the country's best drivers and teams lining up in various competitions.
The Total UAE Touring Car Championship promises to be one of the most competitive of the three categories scheduled for today.
Reigning champion in Class 1 Jonathan Simmonds will be focusing on managing his MSW team and providing, rookie racer, Andre Ramdhanny with his debut season.
"Andre works for our company and has shown great talent in sprint style runs and we decided to throw him in at the deep end," Simmonds said.
Pre-season favourites in Class 1 include the SEAT duo of Nader Zuhour and Performance Racing's Khalid Bin Hadher with their main challenger being Mohammad Al Arishy flying the flag for BMW.
Others to watch will be newcomers Jeffrey Curtis and Simon Dennis.
In the bikes, Bahrain's Hussain Al Kooheji will go in as the pre-season favourite aboard his Yamaha in the 1000 Class, but he will have to face some stern opposition from Saudi ace Abdul Aziz Bin Laden on a BMW S1000RR. Others to watch out will be Hennie Sauerman (Monster Kawasaki), Tony Jordan (Yamaha) and Ahmad Al Lanjawi (Suzuki).
In the 600 cc Class, reigning champion Pascal Grosjean will be the favourite with the likes of Mahmoud Tannir and Alan Boyter in their Triumph Daytona's in Yas MotorcycleRacing colours.
Schedule
Race Day time-table:
Practice sessions: (9-9:20 am) UAE Sportscars: (9:25-9:45) UAE Sportsbikes; (9:50-10 am) Total UAE Touring Cars.
Qualifying sessions: (10:15-10:35 am) UAE Sportscars; (10:40-11 am) UAE Sportsbikes; (11:05-11:25 am)
Total UAE Touring Cars: (1 pm) Race 1: UAE Sportscars Race 1 (15 laps); Race 2: UAE Sportsbikes Race 1 (15 laps); Race 3: Total UAE Touring Cars Race 1 (15 laps); Race 4: UAE Sportscars Race 2 (15 laps); Race 5: UAE Sportsbikes Race 2 (15 laps); Race 6: Total UAE Touring Cars Race 2 (15 laps).
