Papantonis grabs double race win as new season roars to life at Dubai Autodrome

UAE National Race Day brings action in NGK Series, UAE Sportbike Championship, Formula Gulf 1000 and Radical Middle East Cup.

Dubai, 14 November, 2015: Multiple UAE champion Costas Papantonis was in title-winning form again as the new 2015-16 race season got underway at Dubai Autodrome.

Papantonis powered his Gulf Petrochem Seat Leon Super Copa to beck-to-back Class 1 race victories in the second round of the NGK Racing Series which had been launched at Yas Marina Circuit last month.

He won both races with more than 30 seconds to spare from Peter England in his Vauxhall Astra and Marcel Kusin who finished third on both occasions in his BMW 130i for K & K Racing.

"It was a relatively easy today with no issues with the car—a good weekend," said Papantonis at the finish. "I want to thank my sponsors Gulf Petrochem, who have been alongside us for the last five years.” 

Racing was tighter in Class 2 of the NGK Racing Series, as Al Quassim Hamidaddin in a Honda Civic managed two wins in the Clio Cup, the race within a race, which saw Renault  Cup Clio drivers Simon Dennis and Will Morrison traded places and each score a class win.

The UAE Sportbike Championship saw two veterans battling it out, with Mahmoud Tannir (Honda) taking the first race victory of the day and Abdulaziz Binladin (Kawasaki) striking back later on to secure race two.  

Ahmed Al Muyin (Kawasaki) fought well in attempt to catch the frontrunners but ended up settling for third in both races.  Leigh Young (Yamaha) was the standout newcomer in the Rookie Class with two wins.

Tannir was pleased with the close racing with Bin Ladin and said afterwards, “All in all it was a really good weekend for us and it was a great beginning for the championship.” 

The French duo of Lucovic Loffreda and Romain Lutter of Lucco Racing dominated the Radical Middle East Cup with a pair of wins on the day, but it was a scrappy affair between all of the drivers of the Le Mans style Radical race cars.  

Paolo Necchi of AUH Motorsports was the closest chasing the Frenchmen down, ending up a mere 1.954 second behind at the checkered flag in race one. 

Also on the bill were races for the Formula Gulf 1000, featuring young up-and-coming drivers graduating from karting into the world of single-seater racing.  

Mashur Bal Hejaila and Cato Poulsen were the drivers to beat, and each of them scored a victory while battling it out for top honors.