Dubai Autodrome hosts the eighth UAE national race day with an action packed bill in store for race fans this Friday (2 March), featuring: Round 6 of the Total UAE Touring Cars, Round 6 of the Motorcity UAE Sportbikes, Round 7 of the NGK UAE GT Championship, Round 6 of the Maserati Trofeo Middle East, Round 5 of the FG1000 and Round 5 of the Suzuki Swift Cup.
In the Total UAE Touring Cars Nader Zuhour in his SEAT has a 13 points lead in the Class 1, from Costas Papantonis (Gulf Petrochem SEAT) with the pair each scoring a win last time out. This weekend they are likely to square up again in the two sprint races. Also in the mix should be Hamad Al Darmaki at the wheel of a SEAT.
Umair Khan appears to be cruising to his third consecutive Class 2 UAE championship title, in his Lap57 Honda, after his main challenger Aslam Moola has been forced to curtail his racing this season due to health reasons. Khan’s main challenge now should come from his teammate Lap57 Rupesh Channake, with Jonathan Mullan in the BNSS Honda lurking and targeting the podium.
In the Clio Cup, race within a race, Alexandros Annivas in the Gulf Petrochem Renault has his sights set on the title but has to contend with a host of rivals for the top spot on the podium this weekend. Among those will be a double pronged challenge from Duel Racing with Ramzi Moutran opting to give up his regular SEAT drive, to join his brother Nabil in the action packed Clio Cup battlefield. Willie Morrison is another one to watch in this ‘hot hatchback’ class.
The NGK UAE GT Championship and Suzuki Swift cup will be part of the grid which should make it one of the biggest UAE national car fields so far this season.
Who can stop Mahmoud Tannir?
Mahmoud Tannir, aboard his baby blue Triumph Daytona 675, has emerged as the top candidate for the 2011/2012 Motorcity UAE Sportbike Championship 600 Class title but the Dubai based Lebanese driver is not taking anything for granted.
Speaking ahead of the penultimate round of the championship, he said, “There are still four points scoring rounds to go including, on the final day, two double points scoring opportunities. So I am focusing on each race because nothing is certain. I am in a good position but anything can happen in racing.”
Tannir is on a winning streak and on Friday is aiming to extend this, in the two races on the day, to nine wins in nine races. Most likely to upset this run of victories are his own team mate Alan Boyter, Steve Blackney on a Honda CBR600RR and Erikas Savickas on a Yamaha YZF R6.
Boyter is recovering from an injury sustained while riding off-road earlier this month. He lies second in the championship table, 27 points adrift of Tannir.
Blackney has been a regular visitor to the podium this season and will be targeting that elusive first win before the season ends.
But really the rider to watch is Savickas who ran Tannir very close last time out and is a vastly improved rider since he has been mentored and advised by multiple UAE two wheel champion Rod Scott.
In the highly competitive 600 Rookie Class, Surya Raja has established himself as the rider to beat with a series of strong performances aboard his Yamaha YZF R6 and has taken the lead from early season pace setter Chris Morley who has opted to withdraw from the championship. Thus the biggest threat to Raja’s title aspirations should come from Suzuki GSXR600 rider Jonathan Arnup.
In the 1000 Class Abdulaziz Binladin, who recently announced his British Superbike campaign with Moto Rapido, will be out on his BMWS1000RR. The Saudi rider will be using the opportunity to race in the UAE series as part of his preparation for his big season abroad. His main rivals, on Friday, should be fellow BMW rider Nasser Al Shaibi and Gernot Dobida on the Honda CBR1000RR.
Track action on Friday at Dubai Autodrome starts early with the first free practice for Total UAE Touring Cars starting at 08:30am, qualifying mid-morning and the first race scheduled to start just before noon and the final race of the day set to start at 17:15pm.
Entry is free to public with access to grandstand and paddock, giving motorsport fans the opportunity to get up close to the action and also behind the scenes.
