ABU DHABI // Richard Cregan, the chief executive of Yas Marina Circuit, is confident the track�s first year of operation will finish on a high note with the GT1 World Championship this weekend.The series is the last scheduled chance before the summer for motorsport enthusiasts to see racing at Yas Marina, which has hosted Formula One, GP2 cars, Aussie V8 supercars and drag racing events since opening last winter.
GT1 is a new global championship that will see cars from six manufacturers – Aston Martin, Corvette, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ford and Nissan – taking part in a one-hour race on Saturday evening.�For us to be able to host the first meeting of the GT1 World Championship is great,� Cregan said.�It is something that we have been working on since last year. Like the other different events we have had since the Grand Prix, this has been looked at with regard to giving us a global reach.
�I think it is going to be a very exciting weekend full of action.�Stephane Ratel [the creator of GT1] and his people have been working on this series for quite a long period and we have been involved in this series since the start and it is great that we are getting the opportunity to put on the first race.�There is a strong field of drivers taking part in this weekend�s action. Romain Grosjean, who drove for Renault in the Formula One World Championship last year and competed in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be driving a Ford for the Matech team.
Other fellow former Formula One drivers who will be lining up at Yas Marina are Mika Salo, Enrique Bernoldi, Karl Wendlinger and Tomas Enge.Cregan is confident that having a high-class field will help develop a following for a series that will also have races in Britain, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and South Africa as part of a 10-event schedule.�There are a number of well known drivers in the series that will, I imagine, draw some interest to the series,� he said.
�Having ex-Formula One drivers racing the cars and those cars being brands that you see on the streets around Abu Dhabi and the UAE can only help raise the profile of it.�Qualifying will take place on Friday with a qualifying race on Saturday afternoon before the race takes place in the evening. That will include mandatory pit-stops.Plans are already being made for the 2010-11 programme at the circuit, which is likely to see an increase the drag racing. The GP2 race, which was the track�s weakest on-crowd numbers, will link up with the Aussie V8s.
�The drag racing is going to be a very big sport for us,� Cregan said.�We are looking to hold an event once a month in the winter and we are going to send one of the top fuel cars to the States to compete in the summer in preparation for the winter.�GP2 is going to be slightly different to last year. GP2 is going to be combined with the Aussie V8s.�What we have tried to understand is that there is a small market for motorsport here at the moment and lots of events going on in the area around at the same time.
�We are learning from that and are planning things slightly differently.�As to the track�s short-term goals for next year, F1 remains at the centre of Cregan�s thoughts along with continued development.�The Formula One Grand Prix on November 14 is still the most important thing for us,� he said. �But beyond that the most important thing is to improve the show as it goes along.�gcaygill@thenational.ae
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