DUBAI // Karim al Azhari and Fabien Giroix made it two wins in a row in the premier GTA class of the Cytech UAE GT Championship at Dubai Autodrome yesterday.
The one-hour endurance race, which was the highlight of the fifth UAE national race day of the season, was not easy for the pair in their TAM Auto Engineering-prepared House of Portier Corvette as it took a late overtaking move from Giroix to clinch the success.
In the early stages of the race al Azhari was involved in a tussle with Bassam Kronfil for first place.
It was Kronfil who led for much of the first stint from al Azhari, but the pair were both leapfrogged during pit-stops by Julian Griffin's Dodge Viper.
Giroix was soon on his tail in second place, but was unable to do anything about the Viper initially as Griffin was able to stay ahead with some good defensive driving.
But with only four minutes left of the race Giroix was able to overtake Griffin to secure the victory.
Al Azhari said: "This was a great win. My role in the first stint was to keep the tyres in good shape for Fabien. And when he got in the cockpit he did the business. Another good showing by our team."
There was a double on the day for the TAM Auto Engineering/House of Portier squad as Mohammed al Mutawaa and Jiri Skula powered to victory in the GTC Class ahead of the MSW Racing Porsche of Jon Simmonds and Phil Quaife.
The hotly contested GTC Class was won by Robert Cregan in the GulfSport Maserati ahead of team mate Joe Ghanam.
In the UAE sportscars races, which were also taking place, it was a good day for Tom Bradshaw in his Juno car.
The Briton was second in the opening race of the doubleheader and then went one better to stand on top of the podium in the second race.
Bob George had won the opening race in his Radical SR3, and he was third in the second race.
Jordan Groger, the series' defending champion, had a solid showing, with two podium finishes.
The next round of the UAE national race series takes place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on December 16 and 17.
* Agencies
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Race card
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
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Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
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Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
The Specs
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Power: 118hp
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TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qureos
Based: UAE
Launch year: 2021
Number of employees: 33
Sector: Software and technology
Funding: $3 million
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
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Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
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