Driver skills and endurance to be put to the test this weekend

CREDIT: The writer is the Corporate Communications Manager at Dubai Autodrome llc.

Nothing planned for the weekend? Well then, may I suggest you consider an outing on Friday (January 11) to witness one of the most exhilarating spectacles in sport right here in Dubai.

Get down to Dubai Autodrome around lunchtime, take the family along and make your way to the main grandstand where you will get a good view of the action below. Watch as the grid swells as 84 cars line up for the start of the 2013 Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai. Admission to the grandstand and access to the paddock are free.

You will see crews, drivers, pit babes and VIPs mill around as the clock ticks to about 1.45pm when the grid is cleared of all but the 84 drivers in the cockpits of their respective cars for the first stint of what will be, for most, a gruelling adventure. Thus will start the eighth edition of an endurance race which is now considered to be in the same league as the 24-hour classics such as Le Mans, Daytona, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nurburgring.

The importance of the event is such that it has the privilege of taking place under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.

Almost a decade since it first took place, the race has grown in stature as the organisers, Creventic, have toiled tirelessly to establish the race on the international calendar. They have succeeded so much that the Dunlop 24 Hours today attracts the top endurance teams from around the world. Many factory or semi-factory outfits representing the major manufacturers - take your pick from Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Nissan, Audi, Chevrolet, SEAT, Aston Martin, Ginetta, Lotus, Volkswagen and Dodge - make the journey to Dubai.

Equally formidable are some of the drivers in among the 400 or so who will be doing duty during the race, including the former F1 star Stefan Johansson who drove for Ferrari and McLaren in his heyday and who will be belting up for Dubai based Gulf Racing Lamborghini outfit. Other big names include the likes of DTM stars Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Markus Winkelhock and Roland Asch and the all ladies team flying the Racing Divas Team Schubert flag.

Throw into that mix a host of UAE and Gulf based drivers, such as last year’s winner Khalid Al Qubaisi, the UAE Radical champion Jordan Grogor, the NGK Racing Series regular Rob Barff, the Porsche Cup star Abdulaziz Al Faisal, and you have the scene set for an intriguing contest.

We in the UAE are very fortunate to have two major international motorsport events each year, with the grand prix in Abu Dhabi and the Dunlop 24 Hours in Dubai.

To compare the two motorsport disciplines of Formula 1 and endurance racing, let’s take an analogy from cricket. The grand prix would be something of a 20-20 match which is full of razzmatazz, glamour and all the action over a couple of hours. The Dunlop 24 Hours is more akin to the five-day version of the game - calm, serene but packed with strategy and inevitable intrigue for a full day.

The benefits of a grand prix for a hosting city are massive and well-documented, but perhaps less well known is the huge impact the Dunlop 24 Hours has on Dubai during the weekend of the event, and the days building up to it too.

Over 2,000 people connected to the proceedings descend on the city including team crews, drivers, fans, media, spin doctors and the like. Dunlop and Nissan are flying in hordes of journalists from around the globe to get a look at the race and experience the city firsthand. They will leave as ambassadors, they always do.

Creventic and Dubai Autodrome promote the event relentlessly through numerous media channels. Last year’s event racked up 4,000 hours of global television air time and countless column inches in newspapers and magazines around the world.

This year the reach will be even wider with Motors TV carrying much of the race live, coupled to live streaming on YouTube, social media updates, live timing and live commentary by Radio Le Mans. Fans at the track, or wherever they are in the world, will be kept up to date with on- and off-track proceedings throughout the weekend.

At 2pm on Friday, Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem - President of the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE, Vice-President of FIA and Chairman of the Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs (ACTAC) - will flag off the huge field. And thus back to where I started this piece: should you wish to experience a spectacle this weekend, then come down to Dubai Autodrome and witness the build-up, start and the first couple of hours of the Dunlop 24 Hours – I guarantee you it will be unforgettable.