Yas Heat Racing unveils All-Emirati karting team for new season

Abu Dhabi: Yas Heat Racing will be boosted by a strong drivers’ line-up with a mix of strong Emirati and UAE-based talent joining the development programme for the new 2025/26 motorsport season.

For the upcoming season, UAE’s 15-year-old Zakaria “JZ” Doleh, Germany’s Adam Al Azhari (16), Lebanon’s Charbel Abi Gebrael (16), and Edoardo Lacobucci (17) of Italy will represent Yas Heat Racing in the single-seater F4 Middle East Championship and Trophy UAE. All of them as aspiring drivers who are chasing their dream of testing themselves in the pinnacle of motorsport competitions.

Doleh has showcased his exceptional talent as a junior driver, finishing fifth in the UAE IAME X30 Series while Al Azhari will enter the new season on the back of a dominant campaign in the 2025 F4 Championship. He secured three wins and six podiums while he also won twice in Saudi Arabia F4.

Gebrael is also another bright talent, securing second-place in this year’s UAE National Karting Championship while Lacobucci has quickly made his mark in karting, racing in the 60 Mini category, ROK Cup, WSK, and the Italian International Mini Championship.

Yas Heat Racing will also participate in top regional karting competitions during the campaign, with a young all-Emirati team of karting drivers set to be behind the wheel during the season.

In the Bambino Karting category, seven-year-old Yousef Al Khayyat, who came second in the Al Sabq event recently, and Zayed Al Ansari, also seven, and another top finisher from Al Sabq, who has made incredible strides in the IAME Bambino Championship, will don the Yas Heat Racing colours.

They will be joined by six-year-old Rayan Al Ameri, who made his first IAME race in the Bambino Category last week.

Twelve-year-old Faris Haroun, a three-time winner in different categories of the Mena Championship, will also test himself in the UAE Rotax Junior, while another rising star Essa Al Hammadi, 14, will line up in the IAME Junior category.

The Yas Heat Racing F4 and karting drivers will be aiming to impress and follow in the footsteps of previous graduates. Among those to have represented Yas Heat are UAE’s young motorsport stars and ambassadors including Rashid Al Dhaheri, and Yas Heat’s graduate Keanu Al Azhari, a vice-champion of the 2024 Spanish F4 Championship, who drove in GB3, now with F1’s Alpine Academy and will race in the Euro Cup 3.

Yas Heat’s list also includes Emirati sisters Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi, who have had impressive careers so far including racing in the F1 Academy. For Al Dhaheri, he competed in Italian F4 and UAE F4, is now part of the Mercedes Junior Driver Programme, and is part of the F3 programme for 2026.

Ali Al Beshr, General Manager of Yas Marina Circuit, said: “Our 2025/26 line-up reflects the depth and diversity of talent that continues to grow within the UAE’s motorsport community. Yas Heat Racing brings together promising young drivers who call this country home, supported by programmes designed to give them a clear and competitive pathway through the sport. Alongside the wider group, we remain committed to advancing Emirati talent through initiatives such as Al Sabq, which has already proven its impact at the grassroots level. With strengthened karting and F4 structures, this new cohort is well positioned to build on the achievements of our graduates and further elevate the UAE’s presence on regional and international stages.”

Established under Yas Marina Circuit and dedicated to identifying, nurturing, and advancing racing talent from the UAE and beyond, Yas Heat bridges the gap between grass roots motorsport and professional racing, with a mission to elevate Emirati drivers and showcase the UAE’s motorsport excellence on the global stage.

With its new talent, livery and stronger programmes, it reflects Yas Heat’s ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of racing drivers. Its Yas Heat Academy, which focuses on developing young Emirati and UAE-based racing talent, provides a structured, professional platform for them to compete, develop their skills, and proudly represent the UAE on regional and international motorsport stages.