BMW Z4s have featured on the podium at previous Dubai 24hrs, and they’re returning for 2011 in the hands of WTCC drivers Franz Engstler and Kristian Poulsen, amongst others. Keep an eye out too for Cora Schumacher, wife of former F1 driver Ralf, driving a MINI Cooper S. The race isn’t only about visiting drivers and teams though.
Local flavour comes from the likes of UAE GT Champion Karim Al-Azhari, piloting a Ford Mustang, and his team mate Fabien Giroux will be behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo. Emirati Porsche racer Khaled Al Qubaisi is teaming up with fellow Porsche Supercup drivers including Jeroen Bleekemoelen, Sascha Maassen and Sean Edwards in, surprise surprise, a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Former Speedcar driver and UAE karting guru David Terrien will be racing a Renault Megane and Emiratis Ibrahim Salloum and Saif Hassan are set to battle the field in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24. Another Aston Martin will be run by the UAE’s Humaid Al Masaood. Julian Griffin will be swapping his Dodge Viper for a Lotus 2-Eleven, alongside UAE national racing regulars Rob Barff and Frederic Gaillard.
Their team, NFS Racing, will also field a Lotus Evora driven by British Le Mans racer Johnny Mowlem. Dubai-based MSW Racing, fresh from a great performance at the last round of UAE racing at Yas Marina, will run their SEAT Leon Supercopa for team boss Jonathan Simmonds, Andre Ramdhanny, Raed Hassan and Phil Quaife.
And the Moutran brothers – Ramzi, Sami and Nabil – will team up for the family-run Duel Racing SEAT Supercopa, along with Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa and Brit Stuart Hall.
The boys from Lap 57 are a regular at pretty much anything racing related in the UAE, and they’ll be racing their Honda Civic, while the A2B Racing team will be fielding a diesel-powered BMW 1-Series, which should give them a fuel consumption advantage over the opposition.
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Pete West
Can’t wait, the Entry list is amazing in both the cars and drivers taking part.
I’ll be there with my camera’s trying to get some shots.
Good luck to the local boys!
Pete