DUBAI // The roar of touring cars and motorbikes will be heard again tomorrow as the national road racing season gets under way.
Races in the Total UAE Touring Cars, UAE Sportsbikes and UAE Sportscars will take place at the Dubai Autodrome.
Fans who arrive at the track by 9am will be able to watch the Sportscar class practise. Porsches, BMWs, Seats and Renaults will be among the cars jockeying for pole position in the qualifying that starts at 10.15am.
The first race of the season begins at 1pm with the Sportscars class taking to the grid.
Jonathan Simmonds, the UAE Touring Car champion, will hand over the wheel to rookie Andre Ramdhanny.
The American driver, who lives in Dubai, said: "I will be on a learning curve for the first few races but am confident that I will be able to run with the pacesetters as the season develops."
Barry Hope, of Gulf Sport Racing, said the run-up to the season was frantic.
"The first race is always panic because all the teams are trying to fine-tune their cars and get them together before the first race," he said.
The 1000 Class and the 600 Class motorbikes will also line up on the starting grid.
Read about the touring car champion and his Caribbean apprentice in Saturday's Motoring pages
