Drag racers prepare for battle in first round of Pro Series

The opening round of the Drag Racing Pro Series at Yas Marina's Drag Racing facility takes place today.

There is plenty of incentive for the fastest drag racing drivers in the GCC to be on their game today when the first round of the Pro Drag Racing Series takes place.

There is Dh1.4 million up for grabs to drivers during the series at Yas Marina Circuit's drag racing facility as competitors from across the Gulf compete in seven different classes.

The categories that will be raced on the drag strip this weekend are: Pro Modified; Outlaw 10.5; Super Eliminator (7.50 Index); Pro Bike; Super Street Bike; Pro 6; and Super Street 8.

Rashid al Qubaisi, the head of the Yas Drag Racing Centre, said: "Pro Drag Racing Series is a significant and exciting beginning to the 2011 season."

The Dh1.4m pot will be split between the successful drivers throughout the series, with the action continuing tomorrow, and the next round of the series taking place between March 4-5 at Yas.

Today's racing is scheduled to begin at 4.30pm, with tickets starting at Dh30.

Elsewhere today, the latest round of the UAE National Race series takes place at the Dubai Autodrome.

The UAE Sportscars, UAE Superbikes and Suzuki Swift Cup series will all take centre stage with seven races scheduled to take place during the event.

The highlight will be the Sports-car racing, which will run under two 45-minute race formats, rather than the usual endurance length. Teams will have to make pit-stops still, but driver changes will be optional.

Among the drivers competing are UAE GT regulars Raed Hassan and Jon Simmonds, Spencer Vanderpal, the former UAE Saloon Cars Champion, Kuwait's Khaled al Mudaf and Edward Jones, who has been impressing in the UAE Rotax Max Challenge karting series this year.

Also lining up on the grid will be Jordan Grogor, the reigning Gulf Radical Cup champion and Bassam Kronfli, the former UAE champion.

Qualifying for the meeting begins at 9.30am today.