Classics to make Abu Dhabi debut

A spectacular new event on the international historic racing calendar will give drivers the chance to compete on the Yas Marina track at Abu Dhabi in January, during the inaugural Abu Dhabi Motorsports Classic.

A partnership between the new Grand Prix circuit and Masters Historic Racing will allow five different categories to race on January 20-23, including Grand Prix Masters, World Sportscar Masters, Pre-61 Grand Prix Cars and Pre-66 GP Cars.

A special feature of the Abu Dhabi Classic will be a combined race for Le Mans cars of the 1950s and GT cars of the ’60s. This will produce a grid spanning Jaguar D and E-types, Ferrari Testarossas, Maserati 300s and AC Cobras.

The event will run from Wednesday to Saturday and involves shipping five grids from Europe to the UAE, along with teams and all their equipment. Current plans are based on three races for each of the five grids, with one of the races to be run under floodlights.

Masters Series director Christopher Tate said: “We are thrilled to have developed this relationship with the Abu Dhabi circuit over the past eight months. The circuit, with its special variant for historic cars, is the most impressive I have seen anywhere in the world. This new event will be a huge boost to historic racing in general.”

Richard Cregan of circuit operator Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management said: “Our mandate is to develop Yas Marina Circuit into a regional and international centre of motor sport excellence. These are cars that have never before raced in the Gulf region.”