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The Middle East’s fastest one-make championship, the
Gulf Radical Cup, invited to support the inaugural Grand Racing weekend in
Dubai featured thirteen drivers representing a wide range of nationalities.
They lined up on the grid on Saturday for
race one in a colourful array of Radical Sportscars whose engines included a
Powertec 360bhp V8, a Group CN 2-litre Honda Vtec, and a number of 250bhp
Suzuki Hyabusa based Powertec 1.5 litre racing engines.
A Formula One TV crew was in
attendance to broadcast the first outing of the GP2 Asia series which stars
some of the world’s best drivers outside of Formula One, and Michael Schumacher
was in the paddock with his manager Willi Webber to watch an ex-F1 colleague
Jean Alesi drive in the new Speedcar Series.
Dutch karting champion Maurits
Knopjes (Nivea for Men ARC Motorsport) got off to a flying start in his Radical
SR3, taking a win in the first race after starting from P3 on the grid. He
quickly got by poleman Salman Al-Khalifa (Team 777) and Bassam Kronfli (EVO
Middle East) to take the lead but was less than four tenths of a second ahead
of Al-Khalifa at the end of 12 laps of the International Circuit. Kronfli
finished third ahead of Roy van der Viejden (Palm Yacht Charter) who had faded
somewhat during the race after making a spectacular start. But it was Bahraini
Team 777 racer Al Khalifa, fresh from a season of British F3, who set the
fastest lap of the weekend at an astonishing 1:38.503.
With the starting grid for Race Two
decided by the finishing order from the first race, Al Khalifa tracked the fast
starting Knopjes for three laps before making a decisive manoeuvre to take the lead
which he held till the end to claim his third win in this hard fought
championship. This time, Palm Yacht Charter team driver, Van de Viejden kept
his pace up throughout the race to finish on the podium in his last race before
handing over to young Emirati team-mate, Mohammed Al Awadi.
With thirteen Radical Sportscars on
the grid at this very competitive event representing eight nationalities
including both Emirati and Bahraini drivers, it is clear that this series has
firmly established itself.
Race series organiser, GulfSport
Racing’s Barry Hope, said “This high profile televised International event
offered the perfect opportunity to showcase the progress that the Radical and
Lumina CSV series have made in developing talented local drivers who have
committed to the sport of motor racing. They put on a great show and this event
was clearly a real milestone for national racing in the Gulf.”
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