GP2 Asia
About: Established in 2008, this is the Asia spin-off from the European competition, which spawned F1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.
The cars: The single-seat GP2 cars have four-litre V8 engines limited to 600bhp; that equates to about eight seconds a lap slower than an F1 car.
Look out for: Brazilian Bruno Senna, nephew to the F1 legend Ayrton Senna – the buzz is that he may step up to F1 soon.
Driver says: ‘The circuit provides many opportunities to overtake. It will be quite hard for the drivers and the teams to come to a new circuit without any data. The result of the race will be very unexpected,’ says Bruno Senna, GP2 2008 vice champion.
Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Challenge
About: Notorious for its smashes, the challenge kicks off its always-entertaining season in Abu Dhabi, with 20 cars on the grid and no pit stops.
The cars: The competitors drive modified Chevrolet Lumina CSV sedans. Unusually, the race has two categories of driver: pros and gentleman racers, who race together.
Look out for: Aussie Tarek Elgammel, the inaugural challenge winner, Bahraini Fahad Al Musalam (last year’s winner) and the up-and-coming Saudi Abdulaziz Al Yaeesh – a fiery driver with plenty of speed.
Driver says: ‘There is the potential for a lot of damage around this circuit. Generally we’re quite sensible, but we’re all equal, so it’s genuinely difficult to pass. If you don’t try and break that extra metre then you’re not going to get past the guy in front, so you get a bit desperate,’ says Tarek Elgammel, Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Challenge 2006 winner.
Porsche Mobil1 Super Cup
About: The GT racing series has run parallel to every F1 event since 1993. Traditionally it’s a good race for budding young drivers.
The cars: The identical high performance Porsche 911 GT3 cars boast 420bhp and race over 70km.
Look out for: Jeroen Bleeke- molen and René Rast top the table at the moment.
Driver says: ‘The stop-and-go nature of the corners will make it difficult for the drivers to gauge their tyres. The unpredictability factor will make it quite interesting,’ says Bruno Senna, Porsche Mobil1 Super Cup 2006 guest driver.
