Aligned with Abu Dhabi continuing to open up to visitors, Yas Marina Circuit hosted a community experience day over the weekend to launch their ‘Always On’ 2021-22 calendar. Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar, and the UAE Team Emirates cycling team kicked off proceedings with a ride around Yas Marina Circuit to inspire health and fitness among the Abu Dhabi community.
Yas Marina Circuit returns full steam ahead providing the community with significant access opportunities to be engaged through focusing on developing local motorsport talent, community fitness and family entertainment.
From November, drivers will be able to test their skills around the newly designed circuit following an extensive track reconfiguration programme which has upgraded three sections of the track to create faster wheel-to-wheel racing during all competitions from community events to the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021.
Highlights of the hotly anticipated calendar include a brand-new product that was previewed during the community open day. Yas Marina Circuit will be the first Formula 1 circuit to offer Drag Roll Racing around a championship track. The calendar also sees the return of the Yas Street Challenge, where cars go head-to-head in a test of skill and speed on the drag strip, and the weekend Yas Racing Series. DriveYAS motoring experience days continues to expand and offer even more flexibility with customer-centric choice when it comes to driver and passenger thrills.
After its success in 2019, FIA Formula 4 UAE will kick-start their season with a non-championship round during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, supporting the development of motorsport. F4UAE offers young racing drivers around the world the opportunity to take the first step from karting into the world of single-seater racing. The season will feature 20 championship races across five rounds, with two rounds being held at Yas Marina Circuit.
Yas Marina Circuit continues to support the development of young motor talent exemplified through the creation of the Farasha Cup, a female community karting competition, earlier in 2021. The inaugural Farasha Cup took place on Emirati Women’s Day and has since become a regular fixture on the calendar with multiple competitions taking place throughout 2021 and 2022, offering regular competition for female kart drivers.
Continuing Yas Marina Circuit’s strong health and fitness association, Adnoc TrainYas and TrainYas Ladies Presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council returns, welcoming thousands of endurance athletes to Yas Marina Circuit every week to cycle, run or walk the track. Sundays and Tuesdays are open to all athletes and Mondays provides a safe and private opportunity for Ladies to engage in fun, healthy fitness activities around the Formula 1 track. Athletes can train for competitive events held at Yas Marina Circuit with the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi 2021 and the ever-popular community TriYAS both returning to the track, in addition to the Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon.
The 11th edition of TriYAS presented by Adnoc has recently taken place, reuniting over 1,000 athletes, from elite triathletes to first-time participants, for the first major triathlon to take place in the region after the pandemic.
Al Tareq Al Ameri, CEO of Yas Marina Circuit, said: “After a challenging last 18 months for all, Yas Marina Circuit is immensely proud to launch our full ‘always-on’ calendar for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, we’re back full steam ahead and ready for a thrilling year. The calendar is full of diverse motorsport races, community events and fitness initiatives to provide more opportunity to access and engage with the circuit on a regular basis.
“We’re thrilled to continue to expand our product offering with the addition of the Drag Roll Racing around the circuit, there are also some additional exciting announcements to come in the upcoming months which will see an exciting new car be added the fleet for customers to test their skills in around the circuit.”
The most keenly anticipated event on the 2021-2022 calendar is undoubtedly the FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2021, which will return to full capacity allowing spectators to enjoy the ultimate experience once again. The four-day festival, taking place 9-12th December, will showcase motorsports biggest stars take on the newly reconfigured track for the first time. With a season-long battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could prove the championship decider in thrilling style.
Formula 1 is not the only world-class motorsport to be held at Yas Marina Circuit. The circuit continues to host the Gulf 12 Hours endurance race in January 2022, teams from around the world will descend on the UAE capital for an epic 12-hour endurance race. The Yas Super Street Challenge, Yas Marina Circuit’s local urban racing competition, will return with five categories, over four rounds. Other fan favourites include the Yas Racing Series, the Rotax Max Challenge and World Solar Challenge.
