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UAE: Series Dubai preview

Cytech UAE GT Championship: Let the games begin The waiting is finally over. The UAE's best teams and drivers are set to do battle in the Cytech UAE Championship starting this weekend (Friday, 22 October) at Dubai Autodrome. In the space of a ...

Cytech UAE GT Championship: Let the games begin

The waiting is finally over. The UAE's best teams and drivers are set to do battle in the Cytech UAE Championship starting this weekend (Friday, 22 October) at Dubai Autodrome.

In the space of a year the UAE GT Championship has attracted a new sponsor in the form of Cytech and catapulted to being the premier road racing series in the region. For motorsport fans this is great news as they will now be able to get up close to some formidable racing machines destined for the grid including: Callaway, Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper, Porsche GT3 Super Cup, Ginetta G50Z, Aston Martin, Maserati Gran Turismo, KTM X-Bow, Lotus Exige and Lotus Evora.

Team boss Glenn Portier, whose House of Portier squad took the title last season, is looking forward to the season ahead, "Last year we won the UAE GT Championship outright and our goal for this season is to do the double as we have Karim Al Azhari heading up our defence of the GTA title and overall championship in our Callaway Corvette Z06. We have also promoted our young Emirati driver Mohammed al Mutawaa to a GTB class Corvette. We know the opposition is going to be tough but we are ready for them."

Sharing the Corvette with Al Azhari is veteran French racer Fabian Giroix, while Al Mutawaa will team up with FIA GT3 regular Jiri Skula from the Czech Republic.

Out to dethrone the House of Portier team are a host of top teams and the region's top drivers, including the double champion pairing of Raed Hassan and Bassam Kronfli in the Ginetta G50Z.

A much welcomed addition to the grid for this season is Bahrain champion Sheikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa who will team up with Ramzi Moutran in Duel Racing's GT version of the Seat Supercopa.

Julian Griffin, who was one of the few capable of giving Al Azhari a run for his money last season, is back with his awesome NFS Racing Dodge Viper. The NFS organization will also be running a Lotus Evora GT4 for Fred Gaillard

Alex Renner Motors have a trio of very strong entries with reigning UAE Touring Car Champion Jon Simmonds teaming up with former Middle East Supercar Champion Tarek Elgammal doing duty at the wheel of the ARM Porsche GT3 Cup in the GTA class. Cabell Fisher and Saif al Assam will share the sister ARM Porsche GT3 Cup.

In the GT3 class the ARM team will field a Porsche GT3 with reigning UAE GTB Champion Paul Denby sharing the cockpit with last year's top privateer Harris Irfan, the pair targeting the GTC title this season.

The all Emirati driver line-up of former UAE Touring Car Champion Mohammed Al Owais and Khalid Bin Hadher in the Emirates Racing Team Lotus Exige are the team to watch in the GTB class.

GulfSport Racing are making a big impact in this season's series with a couple of Maserati GranTurismos, one for Robert Cregan and another for David Field while also fielding a pair of Ginetta G50s for Khaled Al Mudaf and Joe Ghanam.

The Cyetch UAE GT race format for the 2010/2011 season is a one hour mini endure with teams required to make one pitstop. Teams can run one driver or two drivers, thus driver swaps will take place during the pitstops.

The 2010/2011 Cytech UAE GT Championship series will run over eight rounds, with five rounds at Dubai Autodrome and three rounds at Yas Marina Circuit.

-source: uae gt

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