Qatari champ Amro al-Hamad debuts in Dubai 24hr with Australian MARC Cars Team

Qatar’s Amro al-Hamad (right) will team up with co-drivers, James Kaye from UK and Tony Karanfilovski from Australia in car #92.

By Our Correspondent/DubaiThe 10th anniversary edition of the prestigious Dubai 24hr International endurance series sparks off the New Year racing calendar for Qatari National Amro al-Hamad, contesting one of the worlds most gruelling races for the very first time, this coming weekend at Dubai Autodrome.No stranger to the Dubai Autodrome GP circuit, Amro is also the reigning Radical Middle East Cup Champion and knows the circuit very well. Although by Friday, he will be competing in totally different circumstances, racing into the night alongside 94 other cars with 400 drivers all aiming to secure the coveted 24hr winners trophy by the time the finish flag drops on Saturday 11th at 2:00pm.Amro has joined forces with the formidable MARC Cars Team from Australia, with three cars entered in the SP2 class, they have been performing very well with their recently developed 500 BHP Ford Focus 5.0Ltr V8, specialized for endurance racing. The team has recently contested the Zandvoort 12HR, Zolder and Barcelona 24HR events and the Bathurst and Hungary 12 hour with excellent results.Amro will team up with co-drivers, James Kaye from UK, and Tony Karanfilovski from Australia in car #92.“The 24 hours of Dubai will be my debut in FIA International endurance racing, and my only experience of endurance racing to call on for reference was the 12 hours Kart race at Dubai Kartdrome. “Despite it being my first event, I’m feeling quietly confident with a professional team like MARC Cars to support me. Also I know the Dubai Autodrome GP circuit really well since I have been racing on it for a couple of seasons now. The car looks exciting with its excellent power to weight ratio and competitive set up, but the right hand drive might be a bit challenging for me, as well the night time racing.”“My goal for the future is to enter more endurance races with large teams to gain more experience and my dream would be to be the first driver to raise the Qatari flag on the podium,” commented Amro ahead of the event.