Dubai: Humaid Al Masoud proved his debut third place at Lime Rock was no flash in the pan, as he raced to a second consecutive podium finish in the Canadian leg of the prominent American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at the Mosport International Raceway in Ontario. Driving the team Oryx Racing Mazda Lola Coupé, the Emirati and his teammate, Steven Kane, took third place behind Muscle Milk Aston Martin and second placed sister car of Dyson Racing.
Speaking exclusively to XPRESS, Al Masoud revealed that the two circuits he had driven so far in the ALMS were very different from each other, saying the Canadian circuit was much faster.
"It took me a while to recalibrate my brain to the speed but Steven, the team and I worked through a programme during Friday practice to build up our speed and improve our lap times progressively without any silly mistakes. By the race we were on the pace and pleased to be chasing the Dyson Racing car for second place," he said.
And Al Masoud believes the partnership with Dyson Racing has been paying rich dividends.
"Dyson Racing have 30 years of sports car racing experience and really understand the Mazda Lola Coupe through their technical partnership with Mazda and Advanced Engine Research. The support and advice they are able to provide to our team, Oryx Racing, is invaluable. ALMS is a very professional and competitive championship with some highly experienced drivers and teams racing quick cars on challenging circuits, so working with Dyson Racing has allowed us to accelerate up the learning curve and challenge for podium finishes right from the start."
Realistic
Understandably, Al Masoud is seen as some sort of a torchbearer for UAE drivers, but the man himself is not too sure about the tag ascribed to him.
"I think what this has demonstrated is that drivers from the UAE can compete at a high international standard; it is not easy, but it is achievable," he said. "What I learned from racing in the UAE Radical and GT Championships and from the Dubai 24hr have provided the bedrock for me to progress to this level, but I have always pushed myself to find new challenges. I am not sure about being a ‘torchbearer', but I would be happy to help and advise any UAE driver who was serious about racing at this level and hopefully our success will inspire young drivers to progress to this and other International Championships."
