Agencies/Abu Dhabi
Action from a previous race of the Maserati Trofeo JBK RAK race series
Drivers from across the Middle East are preparing themselves for the final round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK race series that takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The factory-backed motorsport initiative has visited the premier facilities across the Middle East region and provided two action-packed races in each of the rounds so far.
Lebanese driver Joe Ghanem clinched the overall Trofeo Championi prize at the Dubai Autodrome during Round 5 earlier in March, however there are still a host of trophies up for grabs for the other drivers in the series.
Teammates from GR8 Racing Team in KSA, Mohammed Jawa and Faisal Shaker, Lebanese rally ace Zeehog – in his first year of circuit racing, plus Kuwaiti driver Khaled al-Mudhaf are all in contention to take the coveted second place position in the series. Based on past performances, we can expect some high-octane action from the four drivers as they battle each other to secure valuable series points.
Middle East-based drivers who are also racing this weekend will be Joe Ghanem’s teammate Tani Hanna and the final member of the GR8 Racing Team – Osamah Shaker. Justino de Azcarate Riiveroll from Venezuela plus Italian drivers Patrick Zamparini and the duo pairing of Carlo Romani and Giorgio Manuzzi will join them.
This weekend sees the 12-strong grid of Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo race cars take to the technical North Circuit configuration of the UAE’s Formula One circuit. The 3.15km layout features the full back straight of the circuit, which will allow the drivers to fully exploit the 488bhp offered by the 4.7-litre Maserati V8 under the bonnet. After braking hard from maximum velocity, the drivers will then loop back through to the F1 start-finish straight.
Tomorrow will be an extremely packed day for all the drivers as they will have to compete in two 20-minute qualifying sessions in the morning which will set the starting grids for both 30-minute races in the afternoon.
Umberto Cini, Managing Director of Maserati Middle East & Africa, believes the Trofeo JBF RAK series has broken new ground in the region. “One of our intentions for bringing the Maserati Trofeo to the Middle East was to raise the level of motorsport in the region. Based on our experience since we started back in November, we believe we have delivered. Our gentlemen drivers have improved their abilities race-by-race, and have witnessed some spectacular on track performances across the grid.”
Maserati will be honouring the achievements undertaken by all the drivers in the series during an exclusive end-of-season awards ceremony, which will take place at The Palm Garden of the Yas Viceroy Hotel after the final race tomorrow.
Motorsport fans that aren’t able to make it to the circuit themselves can keep up to date with all the action from the track via www.maseraticorse.com and Maserati Middle East & Africa’s facebook page at facebook.com/MaseratiME. Live race reports and paddock action are also available through the official Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK twitter account @TrofeoJBFRAK.