Weekend Preview: Dubai Autodrome
The season resumes with DAMC Karting, Red Line Challenge and California Superbike School

Dubai, January 20, 2009: Dubai Autodrome comes alive this weekend, on 23 January, with the sounds and smells of on track racing and activities. The fourth round of the DAMC Karting Championship takes place at the Kartdrome while across the boulevard Round 5 of the Red Line Challenge will be happening on various areas of the main circuit. Simultaneously another edition of the California Superbike School takes place on the Club Circuit configuration. Friday will be a busy day at Dubai Autodrome.

The DAMC Karting Championship (including RMC Championship) is again likely to provide some very exciting racing. The revelation of the 2008/2009 karting season has been the big numbers of drivers competing in the Rotax Max Seniors Class. As a consequence racing has been of the highest order and the man to beat is no doubt Scott Latham. His arch rival Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum will be absent (due to Speedcar commitments in Bahrain on the same day) but he nevertheless will have his work cut out to overcome a strong field of top contenders including the likes of Rami Azzam, Howie Cracknell, Mohammed Al Mutawaa and Tim Murdoch. Apart from Latham all these drivers have yet to score a Final victory at the Kartdrome and will be anxious to do so.
In the Rotax Max Juniors Class Edward Jones is proving to be too good and fresh from a string showing at the Rotax Grand Finals in la Conca, Italy, he will again be hard to beat.

Maurits Knopjes, also fresh from a fine showing at la Conca, will be the man to beat in the Rotax Max DD2 Class.
The Cadet Class has been the domain of Riccardo Curatola and Tom Bale, and are likely to be at the it again should Curatola line-up for this weekend’s races.

On Friday Qualifying starts at 10.40am with the first of the finals at 3.00pm.

This season’s Red Line Challenge is arguably the most competitive since the inception of the series. Testament to this is the fact that the first four rounds have produced four different outright winners. There is nothing to separate the likes of Hossam El Ansary, Akram Malas, Raad Haddad and Fadi Bikawi. It is sure that these four will be again battling it out with each other for top honours.

Almost as tight at the top is the battle for Class 5S with the Mitsubishi trio of Samer Abdel Malak, Mazin Al Shibani and Nabeel Al Shibani slugging it out for maximum points.

All seven classes are hotly contested affairs with a dozen drivers capable of snatching victory in their respective classes. A big field is expected to take to the line for the fifth round of the Red Line Challenge which has attracted unprecedented interest from competitors and spectators this season.

Competition gets underway at 11am with the field split into two groups who will contest the Autosprint and the Autotest separately, swapping disciplines at 1.30pm with final results expected around 3pm.

The gurus of motorcycle riding from the highly acclaimed California Superbike School will be back in Dubai on Friday at Dubai Autodrome, which is all set to turn into a paradise for motorbike enthusiasts for the fourth year running. An international team of instructors will give riders from across the country, the chance to take their riding skills and techniques to a whole new level on the Club Circuit.

The students have everything to gain at the event, and their participation will go a long way in making them better, safer and more confident riders. The instructors at the California Superbike School have been training more than 100,000 road riders, including several World Champions, and have been passing on their knowledge for over 25 years. The school operates on a truly global scale with courses in America, Australia, UK, Ireland, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, Greece and have a presence in the UAE for four years now.

One thing is sure: Dubai Autodrome will be buzzing with activity this Friday and provides a good opportunity for anyone vaguely interested in motorsport to witness racing at grassroots level as a prelude to UAE National Race Day 4, a week later, on 30 January.