Kinetic 7 Announced as Title Sponsor for Radical World Finals 2024

Exciting developments have emerged for this year's Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi; Kinetic 7 has proudly signed on as the title sponsor for what will be the third Radical World Finals.

Kinetic 7, a global leader in clean-burning cooking technology, has recently made remarkable advancements in sustainable innovation. Their latest breakthrough enables cooking by extracting hydrogen from water, a technology particularly beneficial for the developing world where access to electricity is often limited or unreliable.

Operating from their office in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Kinetic 7 has introduced a portable stove that functions independently of the grid. This innovation is critical for regions with sporadic or no electricity supply.

Rick Parish, Founder and CEO of Kinetic 7, is also a Radical racer and the owner of Relentless Racing, expressed his excitement:

"We are thrilled to partner with the Radical World Finals in Abu Dhabi. As this is our home, we are eager to contribute to the growth and development of local motorsport. There’s no better venue for this than the incredible Yas Marina Circuit, with the global Radical racing community coming here."

The partnership with Kinetic 7 not only brings cutting-edge technology to the forefront but also ensures that this world-class motorsport event highlights the prowess of Radical racing from around the globe, showcasing it in the UAE. The Kinetic 7 Radical World Finals will be broadcast live on the Radical Motorsport YouTube channel. This collaboration promises to elevate the Radical World Finals to new heights.

Martin Hope of GulfSport Racing (Radical UAE) added:

"It’s nearly 20 years to the day, back in early 2005, when Radical racing had its first event here in the UAE. At that time, it was also under global scrutiny, being part of the A1GP event in Dubai, which was one of the world’s biggest motorsport events of that era. The Kinetic 7 Radical World Finals will be attracting teams and drivers from all over the world, and thanks to this partnership, we can really showcase it to the wider global following that Radical Motorsport has."

After two successful World Finals in Las Vegas (2022) and Portimao (2023), drivers from across the globe and Radical’s 14 Cup Championships can once again compete for the ultimate title, at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The World Finals is now open to all Radical customers worldwide, with no qualification necessary.

The event will commence on Wednesday, 6th November, with a track walk and welcome reception, followed by optional test sessions on 7th November for drivers to familiarise themselves with the circuit.

Friday, 8th November, offers additional optional testing opportunities for those new to the 5.2km Tilke-designed circuit, before the official practice session later that afternoon.

Qualifying and the first two heat races are scheduled for Saturday, 9th November, with the final heat race and the highly anticipated Radical World Finals race taking place on Sunday, 10th November. The event will conclude with an awards dinner and gala that evening at the W Hotel, allowing drivers and teams to reflect on their week in the United Arab Emirates.

Arrive & Drive packages are available through Radical UAE and various teams in both the UK and UAE, the Radical factory will also be providing a fleet of SR10 XXR models under a Works Team banner. Radical Factory technical support and spares will be available throughout the event, ensuring that all participants can perform at their best.

For full event information and to register your place click below:

Questions or media enquiries please email: worldfinals@radicalmotorsport.com

Radical World Finals 2024 Goes Live

The excitement is building as the Radical World Finals 2024 are set to take place at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi from November 6th – 10th. This prestigious event will bring together Radical racers from around the world for a thrilling display of speed, precision, and competition.

Drivers from across the globe and Radical’s 14 Cup Championships will compete for the ultimate title, pushing their limits and demonstrating their expertise in Radical’s signature race cars. This event promises to be a highlight of our motorsport calendar, offering an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

The father-son duo, Barry and Martin Hope, who head Radical UAE/GulfSport Racing, have been pivotal in establishing and growing the Radical market across the Gulf region for nearly two decades. Their dedication led to the inception of the Gulf Radical Cup in 2005, a series that has since become one of the most popular official Radical Championships worldwide. The Gulf Radical Cup’s early season schedule aligns perfectly with the World Finals, offering a unique opportunity for racers to extend their stay and maximise their racing calendar.

In partnership with the spectacular W Hotel Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, a very attractive room rate, which includes half-board has been offered to entered competitors, their teams, and supporters. The W Hotel offers stunning views of the circuit, has multiple dining options and has direct access to the paddock via a foot bridge over the track. We highly recommend booking the half-board option at the W Hotel, where you can enjoy lunch on the terrace overlooking the circuit in-between all the track action.

The World Finals will be open to all Radical customers worldwide, with no qualification necessary. The event kicks off on Wednesday November 6, with a track walk and welcome reception, followed by optional test sessions on November 7 for the drivers to get to grips with the circuit.

Friday 8 November provides more opportunity for optional testing, for those unfamiliar with the 5.2km Tilke-designed circuit, before the official practise session later that afternoon.

Qualifying and the first two heat races will take place on Saturday 9, with the final heat race and the all-important Radical World Finals race on Sunday 10. The event will conclude by an awards dinner and gala that evening at the W Hotel, which gives drivers and teams the chance to reflect on their week in the United Arab Emirates.

Arrive & Drive packages are available through Radical UAE and various teams in both the UK and UAE, the Radical factory will also be providing a fleet of SR10 XXR models under a Works Team banner.

Factory technical support and spares will be available throughout the event, ensuring that all participants can perform at their best.

Full details of entry fees and event information are available at www.gulfradicalcup.com where participants can now register for the third Radical World Finals.

Any enquiries about the 2024 Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi please email: worldfinals@radicalmotorsport.com.

Gulf Radical Cup Returns to Hankook Tyres for 2024/25 Season

Today the Gulf Radical Cup has announced its return to Hankook Racing slicks for the upcoming 2024/25 season. This decision follows a challenging period marked by a catastrophic fire at the Hankook factory in Korea, which necessitated a swift response from the global racing community to secure a reliable tyre supply for the 2023/24 season. During this time, the series ran on Pirelli tyres.

With the situation now stabilized, the Gulf Radical Cup will revert to Hankook tyres. This move aligns with the broader global Radical community, which has largely returned to Hankook. Notably, the Radical World Finals will also utilize the same C52 compound Hankook tyres as the rest of the Gulf Radical Cup.

For the 2024 season, the retail price of the Hankook tyres has been set at a very competitive AED 5,740 (+VAT) per set, providing a welcome relief to teams and drivers, especially when compared to last season's pricing for Pirelli tyres.

The first batch of slicks and wets is expected to arrive in September, just in time for testing to commence later that month.

Dragon Racing will continue to offer their first class fitting and support service on site at every round of the Gulf Radical Cup. Tyres will continue to be purchased from series organiser GulfSport Racing LLC.

Entries Now Open for the 2024/25 Gulf Radical Cup

GulfSport Racing are thrilled to announce that entries for the 2024/25 Gulf Radical Cup are officially open!

Following a spectacular previous season filled with exhilarating races, new cars, and talented drivers, we are eagerly anticipating an even more exciting year ahead.

The season will officially commence in October with a pre-season test in Dubai, leading up to the first round, also in Dubai, on the 26th and 27th of October.

In line with our tradition, we are excited to offer an early entry incentive. From today until the end of July, the first five competitors to complete their entry (including payment) will receive one of five sets of free racing slick tyres. Don't miss this opportunity!

Despite the global rise in general costs, we are proud to announce that the race fees for this season will only see a modest 2.5% increase.

There are currently four new cars being built at the Radical factory in the UK, including a second demo XXR for GulfSport Racing. We are looking forward to packed grids featuring plenty of new, shiny machinery.

GulfSport Racing and other teams are offering various options for on-track testing or racing this season. Get in touch to explore what's available.

Remember, the early entry offer ends at the end of July, and only the first five entries will receive a set of free tyres.

Don't miss out! Click the link below to register now.

2024/25 Gulf Radical Cup Dates Announced

The 2023/24 season has only come to a close last month, and attention is already turning to next year.

Before then, we expect to see reigning champion Alex Buhkantsov taking to the track with Virage Racing, claiming his prize to test an LMP3 car with this top European team.

In July, Usmaan Mughal will be racing at Silverstone in the Hagerty Radical Cup. As the Gulf Radical Cup National Class Champion, he claims this fantastic prize. We also expect to see a couple of other GRC regulars taking part in a couple of rounds of the UK series, but more news on that later.

Looking ahead to next season, it’s exciting to announce the schedule. With two official tests, seven rounds of the Gulf Radical Cup, and of course, the much-anticipated Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit, this is going to be a year to remember for sure.

The season kicks off in October with the first official test of the year at the Dubai Autodrome on the 10th of October, before the first round two weeks later on the 24th of October.

The Radical World Finals in November will be a highlight of the season, where Radical racers from all over the world will converge at Yas Marina Circuit. This prestigious event will showcase top-tier talent and fierce competition, promising an unforgettable spectacle for the teams and drivers.

Series Coordinator Fred Jacobs said:

“We are patricianly looking forward to this season, last year was one of best so far. With the Radical World Finals coming here in November the spot light will be on us, but are confident to put on a great show for all!”

Stay tuned for more updates and detailed information as we gear up for another unforgettable season of the Gulf Radical Cup!

Round 7 - Race Report

The last round of the 2023/24 Gulf Radical Cup (GRC) took place on the challenging 3.56 km National Circuit at the Dubai Autodrome. Although 25 drivers had taken part this season in what has become the region’s premier sportscar championship, this particular event was particularly important to four drivers who were in with a shout of the title; namely Alex Bukhantsov (TT Racing), Usmaan Mughal (Relentless By GulfSport Racing), Alim Geshev (TT Racing) and Jimmy Chou (TT Racing).

As the teams and drivers arrived at the circuit the points difference between these four was 110 points. However, there was a total of 122 points available due to it being the ‘double points’ weekend. So GRC championship leader and current Asia Le Mans Series Champion Alex Bukhantsov would need to be on his game if he were to secure his second GRC title and the award of a test drive in Spain with Team Virage, one of Europe’s top endurance racing teams. This includes spending the first of two days at the Virage Academy facility in their state of the art simulator, then taking to the track in Valencia the following day in one of their LMP3 cars.

This season saw the launch of a National Class Award which enables the 14 competitors who hold a National level race licence (as distinct from an International Licence) to score points on a separate tally to compete for the award at the end of the season. Not only will the winner be recognised as the GRC National Class Champion, they will also be awarded a funded race event in a Radical SR3 XXR competing in the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK. The leading contenders for this title are Mughal and Geshev separated by only 17 points going into the double points weekend.

Qualification.

Saturday proved to be an unusually hectic Raceday with two quali sessions to decide the grid for both of the 20 minute Sprint Races and the main 45 minute race which would take place under newly installed track lights at the Dubai Autodrome later that evening.

The first quali session resulted in the two points leaders, Bukhantshov and Mughal on the front row of the grid for Sprint Race 1. Based on their second best lap times Jimmy Chou managed to get himself on the front row for Sprint Race 2, demoting Mughal to P3.

The second quali session finished with Bukhantsov claiming the pole position for the Enduro next to Geshev with Mughal and Chou on row two. Brazilian driver Suellio Almeida finished a creditable 5th fastest ahead of the experienced Johnny Khazzoum in P6.

Sprint Race 1

As the race got underway it was Geshev who got the jump and led the pack as they raced through turn 1. Chased close behind by Chou and Mughal.

This season has seen a far more strict application of penalties for drivers, particularly for track limit infringements. Sprint Race 1 was no exception with only two drivers not being shown warning flags.

So as the race drew to a close the 4 drivers were only covered by a few seconds and as a result of repeated infringements three drivers were given a 10 second penalty. Bukhantsov being one of them which moved him down to 4th place in the results. Alim Geshev who was initially given a penalty had it removed after further investigation by the stewards, meaning he took a great win from Chou and Mughal.

Sprint Race 2

As the pack raced away mughal overcooked it going into Turn 1 on the first lap which handicapped his race considerably with a badly flat spotted tyre, worse than that he was later handed a 5 second penalty for not returning to the track correctly as directed by the CoC. Bukhantsov was driving an impeccable race, and was charging away from the field. He had decided to use his second set of tyres early (normally used for the Endurance race), on the basis that he could seal up the series by taking a convincing win in Sprint Race 2. And that he did by on with a 12 second margin over Chou who was being hounded by Geshev. Feyzulin finished 4th ahead of Kazzoum and Monie. Notably this weekend, and making his racing debut was George Harding. Harding was locked in a battle fighting for 8th, making a great last lap moving and securing the place, taking points on his race debut.

This result meant that Alex Bukhantsov was able to retain his GRC Championship title and so was awarded the LMP3 test in Spain with Team Virage.

Endurance Race

Going into the final championship endurance race of the season with its mandatory 45 second pitstop, success penalties would play a major part as Alim Geshev would have to wait an extra 20 seconds before returning to the track as a result of winning the previous endurance race. Championship leader Bukhantsov had to serve an additional 15 seconds whilst Feyzulin and Mughal would have an extra 5 seconds added.

So, while the top spot was secure it was now the Vice Champion spot that was the focus of Mughal, Geshev and Chou.

The pack thundered downhill to Turn 1 with Bukhantsov just ahead and Mughal getting past Geshev with Chou very close behind. On lap 5 Mughal was able to squeeze through a very small gap at turn 9 to take the lead away from Bukhantsov with Chou taking advantage of the chaos to claim P2. With clear air Mughal was able to gap Chou and Bukhantsov and set the fastest lap of the race on lap 8 at 1:24.806 now with a 2.7 second lead over the young driver from Taiwan.

On lap 16 Mughal and Chou dived into the pits handing the lead to Bukhantsov. Although Mughal had an additional 5 second success penalty to serve, he came in 5 seconds ahead of Chou and so was just able to exit the pits ahead. After a couple of laps Bukhantsov made his pitstop and rejoined the race in P5. By lap 20 Chou has closed the gap and was now only 0.7 seconds behind Mughal. Professional sim racing coach Suellio Almeida, in his first race in the GRC was now in the hunt as he rejoined the circuit in P3 after the pitstops, clearly getting familiar with driving a ‘real’ race car, his 1,700 hours of sim race coaching experience proving to be of huge value

On lap 28 Chou stopped in sector 2 with a technical gremlin, handing second place to Brazilian Almeida and with Bukhantsov now back up to P3 after getting past Johnny Khazzoum. At the finish, after 31 hectic laps of Dubai’s most technical circuit Mughal claimed victory 12 seconds ahead of the Almeida who was 11 seconds ahead of Bukhantsov.

Usmaan Mughal won the inaugural National Class Champion title with a fully funded drive at Silverstone in July in the Hagerty Radical Cup.

These awards were presented to the drivers the following evening at GulfSport’s glamorous end of season gathering at the prestigious Volante Tower (volantedubai.com) in the Business District of downtown Dubai where there was an extra special announcement - the Radical World Finals would be hosted by GulfSport at the Yas Marina Grand Prix Circuit in November.

This will enable the ‘local’ drivers to compete against many of the world’s best Radical pilots - very good news indeed!

The main season might be over, but this year sees the introduction on teh GRC SuperPrix. An 85 minute endurance race, with SuperPole taking place on the 20th of April at the Dubai Autodrome.

Radical World Finals to be held at Yas

After two successful World Finals in Las Vegas (2022) and Portimao (2023), Radical Motorsport have confirmed the chosen destination for the 2024 World Finals will be at the world-famous Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Radical owners and racers from around the world, including the 14 Radical Cup championships, are invited to join the event with registration opening later in April.

Headed by father-son duo Barry and Martin Hope, Radical UAE / GulfSport Racing, have been delivering the Radical market across the Gulf region for almost twenty years. In 2005, they established the Gulf Radical Cup, which remains one of the most popular of the official Radical Championships around the world.

The World Finals normally marks the end of the season for Radical’s 14 Cup Championships but for the Gulf Radical Cup it will be towards the start of the season, presenting an opportunity for Radical owners to extend their stay, and extend their racing calendar.

Further details and the booking process to attend the Radical World Finals 2024 will be announced in the coming weeks. Until then, Radical owners are invited to register their interest by emailing worldfinals@radicalmotorsport.com .

Round 6 - Race Report

The penultimate round of the Gulf Radical Cup took place in glorious racing conditions on the region’s most challenging layout with its 5.39 kms of undulating 14m wide circuit with 16 corners.

The Dubai Autodrome was conceived in 1997 by GulfSport partner, Andrew Lemon and was operational in 2004. As the best recognised Arab destination to most Westerners, Dubai is unique, boasting a fabulous climate and highly developed infrastructure. Its welcoming culture and flourishing industries has made it a popular tourist destination and a key business and financial centre for Africa and Asia.

One of the reasons the Gulf Radical Cup has become popular with drivers from the USA, Europe, Asia and Australasia is not just the weather, but an enormous amount of track time that enables drivers to enjoy mastering their Radical production sports prototypes, running this season on Pirelli P Zero tyres.

With 3 hour open pitlane test sessions on both Thursday and Friday, followed by 30 mins official practise, a qualification session before two 20 x minute sprint races, another quali and then the crucial 45 minute endurance race, competitors can enjoy more than 8 hours of track time!

The test sessions offer an interesting opportunity to compare Radical SR3 lap times with GT cars that compete in the GulfSport managed Gulf ProCar series. For example, Jimmy Chou, who commutes from Taiwan, did 44 laps of the GP Circuit with a best lap time of 2:02.291 in his SR3.

By contrast, American driver Keith Gatehouse did 31 laps in his Mercedes AMG GT4 with a best time of 2:07.571 and his compatriot Ryan Jurgensen ran 40 laps with a best time of 2:07.618 in a McLaren 570S.

Chou then found another 2 tenths in official practise to go fastest ahead of championship contender Usmaan Mughal by just 46 thousandths of a second! But notably, current champion Alex Bukhantsov was absent from this session.

The front row of the grid for the first sprint race contained Alim Geshev on pole, who had set a new quali lap record of 2:01.190 with Mughal just 0.117 behind him. The rolling start saw 13 cars barreling down to Turn 1 and as always the action was intense. By the end of the lap it was Geshev in the lead from Bukhantsov, Mughal and Chou. During this hectic 13 lap race, Bukhantsov managed to get past Geshev to take the win with Mughal in 3rd and Chou in 4th after Amir Feyzulin stopped on track bringing out the safety car.

The second sprint race got off with its customary rolling start with Geshev and Mughal side by side on the front row with Johnny Khazzoum and Bukhantsov right behind them. Going into Turn 1, Mughal spun off after being unintentionally tagged from behind which then gave him a mountain to climb if he was to make up ground again now from the back of the pack. But of course champion Bukhantsov was on form and soon found his way to the front followed by Geshev and Chou coming up from the third row. Mughal did well to fight back to 5th place just ahead of Emirati Abdulnasir Alhameedi and Khazzoum.

Sunday morning saw Bukhantsov claiming pole position in qualifying practise for the 45 minute endurance race that afternoon.

But it was Alim Geshev who got the holeshot and held the lead from Bukhantsov and Chou. As is customary, mandatory pitstop ‘success’ penalties meant that previous Endurance race winner Chou had to wait 20 seconds longer in the pits which made life more difficult for him. But then it got worse. He pulled away after his 65 second stop only to find a huge cloud of oil smoke coming from somewhere in his engine bay - he never made it back on the circuit. Mughal also suffered due to his previous 2nd place finish which meant he sat for an extra 15 seconds in the pitstop.

Bukhantsov had an extra 10 seconds to wait which put paid to any chances of him catching Geshev who went on to win the race. This may not have been such a good thing given that double points are on offer at the 7th and last round of the championship where he will now have to cope with a 20 second pitstop penalty. 2022 British GT Championship winner Ian Loggie, who was racing on an Invitational entry finished in 3rd place ahead of Amir Feyzulin and Mughal who had to fight his way through the field again given his P8 grid position and pitstop penalty. We also saw an impressive drive from rookie Dutch driver Joel Strijder who finished 6th ahead of Johnny Khazzoum after a P9 start.

Round 7, the last event of the Championship will take place in Dubai on the 31st March.

Sprint Race One

Sprint Race Two

Endurance Race

Round 5 - Race Report

The unusually heavy rain caused by local cloud seeding abated to leave familiar blue skies and perfect weather for motor racing on the 5.4kms Dubai Autodrome GP Circuit. It was fascinating to see the inaugural 2006 Gulf Radical Cup champion, Karim Al Azhari at the event with his 16 year old son Keanu, who was leading the F4 UAE Championship.

The Saturday morning quali session offered a hint of what to expect with two talented 16 year olds fighting it out for pole position in the 25 minute Sprint races that would take place later that day. In the end it was young Mexican Ian Aquilera beating the British young gun, Luke Hilton by just 44 hundredths of a second with a time of 2:01.273.

With the temperatures back into the high 20s, the first Sprint Race kicked off with a bang as 14 cars arrived into Turn 1at 120mph. Hilton got the best start but through the next couple of turns the fight for 2nd place was intense with current champion Alex Bukhantsov (have just won the Asian Lemans Series in his LMP3 car at YAS last weekend), his rival Usmaan Mughal, Alim Geshev and Aquilera in the mix. The second lap saw Hilton starting to gap Bukhantsov, followed by Aquilera, Geshev, Jimmy Chou, Mughal, Amir Feyzulin, Joel Strijder, Abdulnasr AlHameedi, Igor Sorokin, Ibby Hadeed, Jahid Kareem, Johnny Khazzoum and Julien Monie. Aquilera’s pressure on Bukhantsov paid off as the champion uncharacteristically  went wide on Turn 14 gifting Aquilera P2 and allowing Geshev to try the same approach. The battles raged on and Hilton put on a great performance to extend his lead to 5 seconds when, with just 7 minutes to go, disaster struck as Hilton pulled off the back straight with a fuel pump issue.

So at the flag it was the young Mexican closely followed by Bukhantsov and Geshev.

The second Sprint Race started with Aquilera on pole, Geshev on P2, Mughal on P3 and Hilton on P4. The pack came slowly around the last turn (16) in perfect rolling start formation and with eyes focused on the gantry lights it was P2 man Geshev who was ahead of the pole man as the lights went out. Would he get a penalty? Geshev held the lead into turn 1 and took the lead of the race. Out of position was Alex Bukhantsov after a very troublesome quali session put him at the back of the grid, but with determination he was very quickly making up positions on the first lap. Mughal, 2nd in the championship was chasing Hilton into Turn 10 at the end of the back straight, but as Hilton shut the door on a fast approaching Mughal, he ended up spinning which dropped him to last place but got going again quickly.

The order after the first crucial lap was Geshev, Aquilera, Feyzulin, Hilton, Bukhantsov, Chou, Khazzoum, Monie, Hadeed, Al Hameedi, Strijder, Sorokin, Karrim and Mughal. But Aquilera was to get past Geshev to take the lead of the race as Mughal picked up several places towards the back of the field, with Bukhantsov right behind him in 5th place. Hilton, putting in some impressive lap times now took 3rd place away from Feyzulin. So it was another convincing victory for the young Aguilera.

Sunday morning saw a short quali session to determine the starting grid for the main 45 minute Endurance Race. Aguilera sat on pole with the current champion sitting to his left on P2, Hilton and Geshev on the second row, Feyzulin and Mughal on the third row, behind them were Chou and AlHameedi, Sorokin and Hadeed , Khazzoum and Karim, with Strijder and Monie on the last row. The Gulf Radical Cup grid always presents a very international flavour, and here we had drivers from Taiwan, Russia, St Kitts & Neavis, Mexico, UK, Pakistan, UAE, Canada, France, Holland and Lebanon. Meaning that many air miles are gained across the gird at each event, but none more than 17 year old Chou. He flys to every event from Taiwan. He shoots straight from school to the airport, lands just before testing. Then back to the airport and into school in Taiwan. I think thats called “commitment” - great to see!

The 45 minute race got off to a blistering and extremely wide start as they went downhill into Turn 1, a 17 metre wide right-hand bend similar to Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch; a blind entry corner that requires commitment and accuracy and is one of several overtaking opportunities on the circuit. At the bottom of the hill after T1, T2 is a left hand high speed kink which compresses the racers into their seats, a little like a mini Eau Rouge. 

It was the young Mexican Aguilera who held the lead, from Bukhantsov with Geshev trying to go around both of them. Hilton appeared hooked to the back of the Number 1 car, but 17 year old Taiwanese driver Jimmy Chou, in his second season with GulfSport was looking menacing behind this group. The racing was extremely intense during that first lap as positions were constantly being challenged but fortunately no contact was made and as they went into lap two things started to settle down a bit. Alim Geshev cleverly moved passed Chou for 5th, with Mughal who was 2nd in championship points table down in 7th, followed by the Emirati Alhameedi, Sorokin, Khazzoum, Strijder, Hadeed, and Karim.

Hilton got past Feyzulin for 3rd place with Chou running in 5th still ahead of Geshev and Mughal. Hadeed then parked his car on the run off at turn 16 with a ‘technical’ which brought out the safety car just 1 minute before the 9 minute pit window was due to open. The mandatory pit stop is 45 seconds, but ‘success penalties’ are designed to throw a spanner in the works as the previous event winner has to wait a further 20 seconds, the 2nd place has 15 additional seconds and the 3rd place man gets 10. In this race that would be Aguilera, Bukhantsov and Geshev respectively.

So as the safety car pulled off the circuit, Aguilera dived straight in for his pit stop followed immediately by Hilton, Feyzulin and Chou thus handing the race lead to Bukhantsov who was being closely followed by Geshev, both of whom came into the pits the next time round handing the lead to Mughal who was the last man in with Alhameedi. After their 45 second stop Mughal and Alhameedi exited the pits to find themselves right behind Amir Feyzulin who was in second place behind new race leader Jimmy Chou.

The longer pit stops resulted in Bukhantsov and Aguilera now having to give chase from 7th and 8th places respectively but with only 16 minutes in which to do it. Jimmy Chou was able to celebrate his first ever race win as he crossed the line followed by Feyzulin and Mughal. Not far behind was Bukhantsov and Aguilera. Feyzulin was given a 10 second penalty for a start line infringement which elevated Mughal to P2 and Bukhantsov to P3.

Round 6 is in just two weeks in Dubai.

Round 4 - Race Report

There is perhaps no finer venue for an international race meeting than the billion dollar Yas Marina Circuit, developed to host the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as part of the development of Yas Island which includes nearby Ferrari World, an 18 hole links golf course, The Louvre and Yas Waterworld.

The Support Paddock was rammed with seventy Formula Regional Middle East and F4 UAE single seaters, whilst the F1 Paddock was reserved for the GulfSport run Gulf Radical Cup and Gulf ProCar cars plus the Hankook 6H Abu Dhabi GTs. In all, more than 200 drivers from the UK, Europe, Asia and the UAE. And unlike your typical European winter test event, there was not a cloud in the sky - for 4 days!

This was an extra special event for GulfSport given that it was exactly 20 years ago that Martin and Barry Hope signed a Distributor Agreement with Tim Greaves at Radical Sportscars in Peterborough. The Gulf Radical Cup then kicked off in January 2006 and has since attracted hundreds of drivers, many of them taking up racing for the first time.

The grid in Abu Dhabi this weekend clearly demonstrated how Radical’s ‘Race The World’ philosophy had evolved with a mix of ambitious young, and more experienced gentlemen drivers from the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the Far East, many of them flying in to enjoy a great deal of track time and perfect racing conditions with likeminded racers.

After Friday’s testing, sixteen Radical drivers headed out for a 20 minute qualifying session which would determine the grid positions for the upcoming Sprint Races. For some, this was their first time in Abu Dhabi yet this didn’t stop them putting in some incredible fast lap times. Sixteen year old Mexican Ian Aguilera very quickly showed the benefit of many years in karts, Ginettas and Ligiers as he quickly got to grips with his rented Radical SR3 and was the only driver to get into the 56s with an impressive lap of 1:56.812. This put him three and a half tenths ahead of the very quick Alim Geshev who made his debut last season and young LMP4 racer Jimmy Chou.

So the scene was set for the first of two live streamed 25 minute Sprint races that would be held that afternoon.

The rolling start saw young Aguilera hold his lead into Turn One but coming under pressure from fast starting Usmaan Mughal from P5. Geshev then got past Mughal on the brakes into Turn 6 who now came under pressure from GRC Champion Alex Buchantsov and Chou. Geshev then took the lead into Turn 9 which saw Aguilera running off track and running in P3.

Bukhantsov overtook Aguilera to take P3 as they headed down to Turn 5 and the 1km back straight where Mughal had to take drastic avoiding action as Geshev slowed with a fuel pump issue handing the lead to Mughal who held it to the chequered flag. Chou also was able to find his way past Aguilera after a titanic battle to finish in P3 right behind Champion Bukhantsov. The experienced Las Vegas based GT and Radical racer Greg Gorski, who would later race a Lamborghini in the Hankook 6 Hours finished in P5.

Later that evening, under the lights we saw another epic confrontation as the second Sprint Race took place with Mughal in a GulfSport run XXR making an amazing start from P5 to take the lead into Turn One from Aguilera, Chou and Bukhantsov. Unfortunately Jahid Karim lost the car at the first corner resulting in a Safety Car which meant that Mughal would have to defend the great position he’d gained at the start.

But hold it he did, holding off the close attention of the Mexican, whilst the #1 car of Bukhantsov made a dive into Turn 5 to take P3 from Chou.Behind them was a tremendous battle between Gorski, Julien Monie, Perry David and Jack Yang. At the flag it was Mughal with his second win of the day from Champion Bukhantsov and Chou.

All sixteen drivers headed out at 5pm on Sunday for their Qualification session to form the starting grid for the main race that would take place later that evening. Again it was Aguilera who was the only driver that got into the 56s with a stunning lap of 1:56.359 a full second quicker than P2 man Chou. Bukhantsov and Geshev would line up on the second row. With the circuit being used for F1 now for 15 years, the drivers found very strict control over track limits and consequently nine laps were deleted from the timesheets.

Once all the armco barrier damage from the 6H race was completed, the 45 minute Endurance Race exploded into life under the lights with the two 16 year old drivers on the front row. Somehow all 16 got safely through Turn 1 despite being 4-wide and as they plunged down to Turn 5 it was Aguilera being hassled by Bukhantsov, Chou, Geshev, Mughal, Gorski, David, Yang, Monie, Hadeed, Sorokin, Strijder, Booth, Bachman, Cush and Karim.

Bukhantsov succeeded in getting past and was followed by Chou as Aguilera went wide and off track as he did in the previous race. But this didn’t last long as Aguilera pushed through at the end of the back straight and with Bukhantsov being run wide, Chou slipped past for second place leaving the two young chargers at the head of the pack again.

Meanwhile the midpack drivers were clearly enjoying themselves as positions continued to change and we saw Sorokin and Strijder hassling Monie for 9th place.

A feature of Radical Endurance races is a mandatory 45 second pitstop when the pitlane opens on the 18th minute for 9 minutes. To ensure competitive racing the top three finishers of the last Endurance race are given ‘success penalties’ in the form of additional time added to their pitstops with the winner given an additional 20 seconds, the second placed driver 15 seconds, third place 10 with both P4 and P5 given 5 additional seconds. This really does provide for an exciting race as it does all sorts of strange things to the order on track.

With the previous winner, Luke Hilton not at this event it was Perry David who picked up an additional 15 seconds, Mughal with 10 and Bukhantsov with 5. So once the pitstops were completed and order was restored it was again Aguilera in the lead, followed by Geshev who was comfortably ahead of Bukhantsov, Chou, Gorski, Mughal, Yang, David, Strijder, Hadeed, Sorokin, Monie, Booth, Bachman and Karim.

But with 8 minutes to go the Safety Car came out to deal with with Joel Strijder’s car which was stationary at Turn 12 and this closed up the gaps and made for an even more exciting end to the race.

When the Safety Car released the pack there was only time for one last lap and the cars were closely bunched and eager to take advantage of their competitors if they could. Sure enough, we then saw the very experienced Bukhantsov out braking Geshev into Turn 5 to pick up second position momentarily as Geshev had the better drive off the corner. They ran side by side down the back straight and touched wings being so close as they entered Turn 6, but it was the #1 car on the inside line and so was able to retain his 2nd position. But as they entered Turn 9 at high speed Geshev lost control allowing Chou to jump up to third. A couple of corners later it was young Aguilera who saw the chequered flag first, followed closely by Bukhanstov and Chou.

The final result had Geshev inheriting P3 due to a 10 second penalty given to Chou for an infringement when rejoining the track after the pitstops.

So, a very exciting set of races that demonstrated the amazing skills of these drivers whose fastest laps were comparable to the fastest F4 and GT cars seen on the GP circuit. The next round of the Gulf Radical Cup will be held on the Dubai Autodrome in 4 weeks time.