2012 Extreme Super Lap – season opener report
The 2012 U.A.E. Time Attack is GO!
Saeed Al Mehairi
The 2012 series of the U.A.E. Time Attack events, organized by Extreme Motorsports from Abu Dhabi, sponsored by Titanio Auto and EXEDY is off to a good start with the first event of the season held at the magnificent Yas Marina Circuit at the beginning of February.
Perfect weather greeted the participants competing on the floodlit South Circuit configuration and promised another exciting evening chasing the best lap times across three classes.
In the absence of the current record holder Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum and the likes of Khalid Al Qubaisi or Fadi Biqawi, young Emirati race driver Saeed Al Muhairi jumped at the opportunity and dominated the opening round at the wheel of the supercharged Extreme Performance Nissan 370Z.
Muhairi broke his own record by over two seconds and clinched a close overall win with the time of 1:10.118. This time is also a new class record for the Modified class.
Michael Heywood
In the Street Class Saif Hattawi at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 was the man to beat. Hattawi’s best lap time of 1:10.279 earned him the class win and came real close to the fastest overall lap times. Khaled Bin Hamel was a close second racing in his Porsche 911 GT3.
Tayeb Abdulrahman steered his Porsche Cayman R to a win in the Street Class under 3.5 liter with the time of 1:16.611, beating an inspired Naji Al Musaibi competing in his bright yellow Nissan 370Z.
Michael Heywood dominated the AWD Super Street Class at the wheel of his black Lancer Evolution X prepared by 1000 Dunes. Heywood lapped the South Circuit in an excellent 1:10.139, posting a new class record and finishing second overall on the night.
Steven Swindell
Daniel Hanna’s performance looked promising in testing, but mechanical problems prevented him from running in the timed laps.
In the Super Street AWD above 3.5 liter Steven Swindell powered his Nissan GT-R to a convincing class win over a very competitive Ahmad Al Melaihi at the wheel of his black Porsche 911 Turbo. Swindell’s best lap time was 1:11.760 while Al Melaihi clocked the best of 1:12.586.
Michael Heywood receiving his trophy
It is interesting to mention that we’ve witnessed the first appearance of an SUV in this class where Abdulla Al Zaabi fielded his turbocharged Cherokee SRT8 but was unable to complete the timed laps due to brake problems.
Finally, the highly contested Modified Class brought lots of excitement and the fastest lap of the day by the class winner Saeed Al Muhairi. An inspited Ahmed Arafat at the wheel of the 1000 Dunes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI finished a close second, managing an excellent 1:10.345 in the closing laps and promising to be back for more.
Khalid Bin hamel and Saif Hattawi
The next round of the Extreme Super Lap, the U.A.E. Time Attack is on 9th of March with a new track configuration and the introduction of the Radicals class. For more information please visit ww.extremesuperlap.com
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 1
February 10th 2012
Street Class:
1. Saif Hattawi Porsche GT3 1:10.279
2. Khaled Bin Hamel Porsche GT3 1:11.398
Street Class:
1. Tayeb Abdul Rahman Porsche Cayman R 1:16.611
2. Naji Al Musabi Nissan 370Z 1:18.673
Super Street AWD:
1. Michael Heywood Mitsubishi EVO X 1:10.139 (new class record)
2. Daniel Hanna Mitsubishi EVO IX DNF
Super Street AWD (above 3.0L):
1. Steven Swindells Nissan GT-R35 1:11.760
2. Ahmad Al Melaihi Porsche 911 Turbo 1:12.586
3. Abdulla Rashed JEEP SRT8 DNF
Modified:
1. Saeed Al Muhairi – Nissan 370Z 1:10.118 (new class record)
2. Ahmad Arafat Mitsubishi EVO6 1:10.345
Ahmed Arafat and Saeed Al Mehairi
