News
Gulf Radical Cup 2018/19 Sporting and Technical Regulations can now be downloaded here.
Every effort has been made to offer continuity with the new Gulf Radical Cup and no major changes have been applied. However its is very important as a competitor and a team to have a clear understanding of the Sporting and Technical Regulations. If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to get in contact with us.
As the season draws ever closer, two more pairings are confirmed for the 2018/19 Gulf Radical Cup.
We welcome the pairing of Jeff Curtis and James Edmeades from the D5 Racing Team (www.d5dubai.com), racing the number 4 SR3, Jeff and James finished second overall in the Radical Middle East Cup. Last season was the pairings rookie year, but like their closest competitor Ian Roberts they both had a taste of the top step and hope to see many more this season.
Jeff added:
"After having to settle for second place in last years championship, at D5 racing team we have high hopes to better that this season. Last year James Edmeades and myself competed with one of the oldest cars and it was my Rookie year, this year we have more weapons in our arsenal as we bring a new car to the grid, in which we hope for further our chances. We have both been keeping healthy over the summer in order to lower some of the weight in the car too, we can be found working out in the facilities provided by team sponsor, D5 Executive Gymnasium,
D5 is a gym that is located in the vibrant, economic hub of Dubai International Financial Centre. It has a high-performance facility, catering to the demands of the modern executive, focused on delivering results to each and every client. Using a five dimensional approach to fitness & health, D5 is committed to a holistic understanding of the impact and influence that factors such as lifestyle, work/life balance and nutrition have to play on our day-to-day fitness and the achievement of our long-term fitness goals. D5 has recently been awarded a DHA license for high-level sports therapy, we have made a decal change for this year which sports the colours of this new therapy section of D5 which will provide the highest level of rehabilitation for everyone."
Also registered now to race this season is the new pairing of Fran Cush and Neil Clark. Having already completed a couple of days testing over the summer, both are looking for a steady first season. While Fran has a background in the design of British sports cars such as Ultima, this will be his first time taking to the track in a racing situation, while his team mate Neil has been racing various UK club series since 1994.
Neil and Fran added:
"After much research we decided to try our hand at the Gulf Radical Cup and Gulf Sport were by far the most professional and knowledgeable team we encountered.
GulfSport have been on hand to patiently answer our many questions, provide us a car to test at the Dubai Autodrome, give us instruction and guide us professionally through the driving and written tests for the licence.
We now have a car and are certain that the same level of care, support and great humour will continue for the coming season."
The Gulf Radical Cup will be on display at the Emirates Motorsport Expo at the Dubai Autodrome on the 14th of September.
For more info on the GRC contact us at info@gulf-sport.com or 04 4228940.
First, welcome Ben Freer to the Gulf Radical Cup. Ben is from Melbourne Australia, he works in Dubai as an Emirates pilot. Ben started racing karts at the age of 14, working his way through the clubman classes finally racing the insanely quick 250 National SuperKarts. After his karting days Ben moved on to Tarmac rally where he built and developed his own Evo 6 to compete in club rallies in Australia.
We asked Ben what his thoughts were looking towards the 2018/19 Gulf Radical Cup season:
"This season will be the first national circuit racing I’ve been involved in since superkarts. I’m very much looking forward to getting back in the seat and experiencing racing in the UAE, also spending the season getting to know the Radical and other drivers."
Ben will be racing with the support of GulfSport Racing in his newly prepared SR3.
Secondly, we welcome back Ian Roberts. Ian finished 3rd overall in last seasons Radical Middle East Cup, taking a well earned win at the last event, he was also awarded Driver of the Season. Previously Ian enjoyed running in his Caterham Super 7 on trackdays and even entered it in a couple of NGK races before switching his attention to Radicals in 2017.
We hope to release details next week of a new pairing hailing from the UK, along with the 2018/19 Gulf Radical Cup Sporting and Technical regulations.
Time has been taken to pull together this season's race calendar shared between Dubai Autodrome and the Yas Marina Circuit. Club level motorsport is price sensitive and its the objective of the organisers of the Gulf Radical Cup to try and keep costs as low and as transparent as possible.
With the support of Radical UK, the price of Hankook racing tyres will be subsidised, making them AED 700 cheaper than what UK competitors pay.
2018/19 Full Season Entry Fee - AED 29,900 (+ VAT) (available until 18th October)
Early Entry Offer - If entry is completed and paid for before the 15th September a free set of tyres will be gifted, effectively bringing your season entry fee to below AED 25,000.
2018/19 Single Event Entry Fee - AED 6,000 (+ VAT)
In order to save some cost for some and allow drivers to pick and choose, testing and hospitality will be offered separately.
Testing is available at selected events on a Dragon Wednesday, at most events the hosting circuit will host an open pit lane session, and at all events there will be 2 x 30 min (mixed class) timed testing session. The fee for these will be paid directly by the competitor to either Dragon Racing or to the circuit at sign on.
Full season hospitality packages will be available soon, or drivers can choose to pre purchase hospitality per event and based on how many guests they might have. Some may choose to stay light and just make use of the local facilities or the team refreshments offered on the GulfSport Hospitality awning.
The global pricing of tyres continues to rise but we have worked hard to keep the local price of racing slicks for the Gulf Radical Cup just under what competitors were paying for Dunlops last season. This is actually working out to be one of the cheapest prices globally for Radical Hankook slicks, some AED 700/set under the price UK competitors pay.
Hankook Ventus F200 - AED 5,320 (+ VAT)
SR3 Front - 200/580R15 & SR3 Rear - 260/610R16
Technical data on the new Hankook tyre will be available on request. Dragon Racing will be operating a state of the art fitting service across all of the official GRC race weekends, including test days. All tyres must be purchased through GulfSport Racing prior to fitting at Dragon Racing.
"The selection of Hankook and the specific tyre options follows 12 months of extensive development. Evaluation has taken place on each model in multiple climatic and test conditions from the cold and wet of a UK winter through high temperature in the US and endurance testing at Spa. Each tyre and compound selected delivers performance comparable to or exceeding its predecessor.
The decision to select Hankook was not solely based on tyre performance, but also their commitment to deliver a consistent service globally both in terms of supply and in the paddock support they will provide our race series.”
Alex Mortimer, Radical’s Sporting & Technical Director
Preparing for the 2018/19 Gulf Radical Cup season is Fran Cush and Neil Clark. Last week they successfully completed a race licence test and course with GulfSport Racing. Working with GulfSport's Martin Hope they spent the evening at the Dubai Autodrome learning the basics of driving a Radical SR3 and competing in a National Race event.
After some passenger laps it was time for them to take the wheel and see what all the fuss was about. Fran has some prior trackday experience, but never in a car with slicks and wings.
Neil has some racing under his belt from the UK, but he found the Radical and the idea of using Video and Data loggers with a professional team pretty new and exciting. He added - "…a big thank you to GulfSport for their support and professionalism in helping with my UAE race licence.
After much research we decided to try our hand at racing here in the UAE, and GulfSport Racing were by far the most professional and knowledgeable outfit we encountered.
Martin and Fred have been on hand to patiently answer our many questions, provide a car to test at the Dubai Autodrome, give us instruction and guide us professionally through the driving and written tests for the licence.
We are now about to buy a car and get them to run it for us for the coming season and am certain the same level of care, support and great humour will continue for the coming season!"
GulfSport Racing are now licenced by ATC UAE to assess and qualify prospective racers for a ATC UAE National B race licence. If you are interested in getting on track with a UAE race licence please contact us.
In 2011 Virage Academy was created in order to assist drivers with physical, mental and technical preparation. Among them, Sergio Perez, Vitaly Petrov, Giedo Van der Garde, Rio Haryanto and another 60 drivers enjoyed the Virage Academy services.
In the winter of 2017-2018 , Team Virage was born in order to compete with two Le Mans Prototypes (LMP3) in the the ELMS, VdeV and Le Mans Cup.
Virage Academy/Campos Racing had previously partnered with Formula Gulf Academy (run by GulfSport Racing) to offer driver training support and a fully funded F3 test to our Vice Champion.
For the 2018/19 Gulf Radical Cup season, Team Virage are offering a test in Spain in their Ligier LMP3. This is a fantastic opportunity for the lucky winner of the Gulf Radical Cup, consolidating all that would have been learnt and proven throughout their season.
GulfSport’s Martin Hope said - “Surely every Radical racer in the world must look at an LMP3 car with immense envy. If you have spent a season racing a Radical you are extremely well prepared to test an LMP3 car and the partnership we have with Team Virage will allow for a very rare opportunity.”
Motor racing specialists GulfSport Racing LLC (www.gulf-sport.com) has been named the exclusive UAE dealer for Radical Sportscars Limited. GulfSport will begin a sales and support program for both new and existing Radical customers throughout the UAE.
“We are delighted to appoint GulfSport as our UAE dealer,” said Joe Anwyll, CEO of Radical Sportscars Limited. “Their experience of Radical dates back 18 years to when Martin Hope raced the iconic Radical Clubsport; the car that started the Radical revolution. Their experience, professionalism and technical prowess strengthens our global network of dealers”.
“As our customers know, what makes the Radical experience unique is the full-service nature of our dealers who provide driver development and coaching along with trackside support, storage, transport and preparation,” added Anwyll. “GulfSport has a proven record of mentoring and coaching aspiring racers be they gentlemen drivers or young karters, many of whom have gone on to compete internationally”.
GulfSport Racing, one of the pioneers of national motor racing in the UAE is a full service motorsport business that develops championships, provides technical support to its drivers, operates a renowned race school, stocks premier branded racewear and equipment, prepares and sells racing cars and engines.
Making dreams come true.
“We are delighted to have been invited to partner with Radical again” said GulfSport’s Martin Hope. “Since organising international Radical races in support of the A1 Grand Prix of Dubai in 2005 we have helped at least 100 drivers to achieve their dreams. Roughly half of these were business owners who typically drive exotic supercars on the roads but aspired to drive a proper racing car. We also train young professional racing drivers, who have come to the UAE from 23 countries for our Formula Gulf Academy to gain the advanced skills and experience they need to compete successfully at the highest level”.
GulfSport will re-launch the one-make Gulf Radical Cup race series they started more than 12 years ago. The two seat Radical SR3 accelerates to 100kph in just over 3 seconds and has a top speed of 240kph. By comparison, it costs US$ 44,000 less than a Porsche GT3, weighs half as much and with its high-downforce aerodynamic design has a lateral force of 2.3g providing a unique and unforgettable driving experience. The Radical SR3 is also eligible to race in any Radical championship in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, Scandinavia and Canada.
Local race teams have expressed support for the re-launch of the Gulf Radical Cup. Dragon Racing Chairman Leon Price commented, “I’m delighted to learn about GulfSport’s new Radical series, another demonstration of the potential growth of motorsport in the UAE”.
“Professionally run race series that provide quality racing and growth will get Dragon’s full support. The Gulf Radical Cup, coupled with the new Gulf Sportscar Championship would in turn support further development of the Dubai Autodrome’s NGK Racing Series for saloon and touring cars” said Mr Price. “These series, along with the successful UAE F4 Championship and the Formula Gulf Academy provides a wide spectrum of racing opportunities supported by our Motorsport Wednesday test sessions”.
Nothing compares.
Gulf Radical Cup coordinator, Fred Jacobs commented,“The legendary Radical experience offers enthusiast owner/drivers the opportunity to drive quickly and safely alongside likeminded individuals, whilst benefitting from coaching by highly experienced instructors. We are often told by our customers that nothing could quite prepare them for the thrill of pulling high G forces as they race through a turn at high speed - something they thought they would never experience. But for those proud owners of an SR3 who go through our training program, this is a reality and for many, a dream come true.”.
