Abu Dhabi: Racing fans were treated to a day of intense racing at Yas Marina Circuit last weekend, as five local motor-racing championships under the umbrella of ‘Yas Racing Held’ were held at the home of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The TRD 86 Cup, Yas Marina Circuit’s first homegrown, single-make championship was back for round three and fans and spectators enjoyed some dramatic racing scenes as Karim Al Azhari and Sam Tehari went bumper to bumper to get first over the line.
Overall winner Azhari, who heads the championship standings with three rounds to go, said: “Today has actually produced the toughest racing of the championship, the whole grid is getting stronger. I’m the experienced driver on the track and there’s nothing left between me and the competition so it’s really close and I’m having to work very hard which makes it even more exciting. At the moment I’ve won all my races but I’m not sure how much longer I can hang on.”
In addition to TRD 86 Cup, Yas Racing Series also included the Formula Gulf 1000, the UAE’s national single-seater championship, featuring cars with identical slicks and wings, as well as UAE Time Attack — a race series that sees production-based sports cars compete for the fastest single lap.
Ahmad Al Ganem took the top spot in the Formula Gulf 1000 championship. The Radical Middle East Cup saw Tony Wells win in 45 minutes, 54.754 seconds with Romaine Lutter taking second place in 46 minutes, 12.229 seconds.
Both races of the NGK series ended with the exact same result, with Greek driver Costas Papantonis winning twice with more than half a minute lead in 20 minutes and 29.500 seconds in Race One and 20 minutes and 21.893 seconds in Race Two.
Following the weekend’s racing, fans can now keep up with all the action on YasTV, a new motorsport channel dedicated to following local motorsport. Highlights from the weekend’s racing can be viewed at YasTV http://www.youtube.com/YasMarinaCircuit
The next round of the TRD 86 Cup will take place at Dubai Autodrome on Friday. For more information on Yas Racing Series and the TRD 86 Cup, please visit: www.yasmarinacircuit.com or call 800 YAS (927).
