Dragon Racing Ferrari delighted by Dubai 24H exploits

Sport360 staff 12:08 11/01/2015
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  • Fire-power: UAE's Dragon Racing Ferrari won won their A6 Pro-Am class and claimed third overall.

    UAE teams exhibited some stunning drivings skills at the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai.

    – De Villiers eats into Al Attiyah's Dakar Rally lead

    Dragon Racing Ferrari, based in the UAE, won their A6 Pro-Am class and also defied the odds to claim third overall behind Black Falcon 2 and Ram Racing yesterday.

    Led by highly decorated Englishman Rob Barff and Irishman Matt Griffin, the driver line-up also included Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Jawa and South African Jordan Grogor.

    LAP57 Honda also performed admirably, overcoming several technical problems to finish fourth in class (A2).

    Their line-up included a trio of UAE champions in Mohammed Al Owais, Abdullah Al Hammadi and Nader Zuhour, the team completed by Indian Rupesh Channake and guest Japanese driver Junichi Umemoto.

    Their technical issues cost them valuable time in the pits after they had initially led the class, but recovered to finish fourth.

    There was no such good news for Dubai based Zettanet Racing Team Honda, who were forced to retire early on with engine issues.

    Dragon Racing driver Griffin, 32, said third overall was a huge achievement for the UAE team. “I’m absolutely over the moon with third, it’s very special,” he said.

    “To win the Pro-Am is one thing and we’re very happy with that but to finish third overall is an amazing achievement, because Dragon Racing is 100 per cent a team based in the UAE.

    “It’s not a European team that’s been renamed. The cars are based here and most of the staff are based here; so it’s a really local team in an international race.”

    Even though he was thrilled, Griffin believes the team could have won the overall title if they had decided to compete in the fully-fledged Pro class.

    “We had the choice to go in the Pro class but our line-up is very much a Pro-Am team, but I think if we’d have been in the Pro class we would have been fighting for the overall lead for sure.

    “Jordon and Mohammed are amateurs but both are very fast amateurs and those two did an outstanding job. Mohammed was mind blowing and we know Jordan’s quick.”

    He added: “We needed the car to be quick throughout the race and for the drivers to be consistent and that’s what we got and that’s why we have the result. “The key was consistency. We stayed out of trouble and didn’t make a single mistake.”

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