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Dubai Autodrome races

DUBAI - The 2011/2012 UAE national circuit racing season comes to an end this weekend on Friday at Dubai Autodrome, which will host the final rounds for both the Total UAE Touring Cars and the MotorCity UAE Sportbikes – in each category a new champion will be crowned at the end of the day.

Practice starts at 9am Friday morning, with first qualifying scheduled for 9:55am and the first race at 11:30am. The final race of the day will start at 15:40pm and will be followed by a ceremony to honour the 2011/2012 UAE National Champions.

All eyes will be on the Class 1 title battle in the Total UAE Touring Car Championship as Nader Zuhour arrives at the final round with 112 points to his credit, 29 points up on his closest rival Costas Papantonis, with 40 points - double the normal amount for the final day - up for grabs in the two sprint races.

Zuhour was in inspired form last time out at Yas Marina Circuit where he powered to two wins and arrives in Dubai with momentum on his side. After his race wins in Abu Dhabi the SEAT driver said, “I changed my approach in the cockpit and things came to me. These two wins are very meaningful in the context of the championship. I am taking the final two races one at a time and hopefully we will be rewarded at the end of the day.”

Papantonis, on the other hand, has nothing to lose as he sets his sights on his third UAE Touring Car title – and if anyone can pull the proverbial ‘rabbit out of the hat’ it will be the gutsy Fujairah based Greek driver in the Gulf Petrochem backed SEAT.

On race day fans can expect an intriguing duel as Zuhour seeks to protect his points tally and Papantonis goes on the attack with the 2011/2012 Total UAE Touring Car crown at stake.

At Yas Marina last month Umair Khan notched up his third consecutive Total UAE Touring Cars Class 2 title, in his Lap57 Honda, and will be looking to crown a superb season with a couple of wins. Out to spoil Khan’s party will be the likes of Rupesh Channake (Lap57 Honda), Mike Scott (Opel Astra) and Jonathan Mullan (GNSS Racing Honda).

Freshly crowned as the inaugural Clio Cup champion, Alexandros Annivas will be on duty in the Gulf Petrochem Renault Clio, and will also be looking to end the season on a high, with experienced Martin Johnson making a rare outing and seeking to bag a win on the final day of the season.

Mahmoud Tannir has won ten out of twelve rounds of the 2011/2012 MotorCity UAE Sportbike Championship.