Antonelli edge out FFF Racing duo for title

dubai — This weekend saw the biggest ever motorsport programme hosted at Yas Marina Circuit, with a total of six championships lining up on the world-famous grid.

Held under the umbrella of Yas Motor Racing Club, a mix of international stars and local heroes squared off at the home of the formula 1 etihad airways abu dhabi grand prix for a huge schedule of racing, which was held across three days.

Headlining the weekend and making its debut at Yas Marina Circuit, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo hit the track in style, with a tight battle for top spot. Race 1 saw Antonelli Motorsport edge out the two cars of FFF Racing Team to finish — who snatched second and third — by a mere 1.8 seconds.

The second race was just as thrilling as the first but it was all change on the podium. A first-time entrant in the Super Trofeo series from the staff of Yas Marina Circuit, racing instructor and GP2 ace Axcil Jeffries, piloted one of the GDL Racing cars to victory – an astonishing feat for his first time out.

Antonelli Motorsport had to settle for a second place finish in this round, with third place also going to GDL Racing.

Saturday was the turn of local drivers to show their mettle as the single-make TRD 86 Cup returned for the third round, supported once again by Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

True to previous form, the first race was dominated by two-time reigning TRD 86 Cup champion Karim Al Azhari with a time of 21 minutes, 36.418 seconds. However, it didn’t all go his way as podium stalwart Gregory Pain kept up the pressure and crossed the line only 0.88 seconds later. Sheehab Al Fahim took third place in Race 1, finishing 1.957 seconds after the leader.

Ultimately, it was Al Azhari’s day as he again outperformed his fellow driver and took Race 2 in 21 minutes and 46.658 seconds. Al Azhari said “The racing this weekend was so exciting and it was fantastic to take the top stop again today. Today was a little chilly which helped push the car to the maximum.”