Abu Dhabi | Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, Ali & Sons Co. turned the famous Formula One-sanctioned 5.28km Yas Marina race track into a festival of performance for fans, families and spectators for the fourth round of 2024/25 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East.
The most competitive one-make racing in the world, Porsche Carrera Cup is in its second year in the Middle East and marks 16 years of Porsche racing in the region following its elevation from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and is one of just 12 Porsche Carrera Cup series worldwide.
Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, ensured that not only racing fans enjoyed a full weekend of entertainment with a full grid of 18 cars including its own Emirati team, Rabdan Motorsport sponsored by Ali & Sons, but also families, children and anyone who is a fan of great music, art, culture, classic Porsches and amazing food were entertained across the two day festival as well.
In between races, selected media were invited to sample a range of Porsche cars on-track including the 718 Boxster GTS, 911 992.2 GTS, Macan BEV Turbo, Panamera GTS and Cayenne GTS as well as experience passenger hot-laps with experienced race drivers.
“Owning a Porsche or even simply being a fan of Porsche and dreaming to own one, means you’re part of a community here in the UAE and Abu Dhabi,” said Wissam Khalil, General Manager at Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain at Ali & Sons.
“Our Porsche community through Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain is one of the most active in the region which you can see by the 40 cars from the Porsche Classic Car Club that have been parading around the famous Yas Marina Circuit and the 50 Porsche GT customers who also registered to drive some laps of the Grand Prix track.”
Fans enjoyed the racing from trackside with an enormous variety of cuisine from food trucks supplied by Amerigos serving traditional Mexican street food and STREats for burgers, shawarma, falafel and fries, while the Pizza Tuk Tuk was kept busy making its signature Margarita and Pepperoni pizzas and the Aurora Café served its artisan coffees for the Café & Barista inside the hospitality lounge.
Partnered with Etihad Airways, the hospitality lounge invited guests to enjoy a variety of food and refreshment options as well as pit their racing skills against each other on the e-simulators in a premium luxury setting.
As Porsche Carrera Cup race mascots Tim & Tina spurred on the crowd and entertained the children who were kept busy in the dedicated kids zone, DJ Jack Smeragila and Walter Scalzone electrified the paddock area with some amazing sets before Dina Stars took to the mic with her soulful voice to belt out some signature tunes.
Emphasising the luxury and performance nature of the weekend, Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain welcomed partners Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, Michelin, Tag Heuer and Etihad to share the experience and the common values each has over some relaxed networking and socialising.
Inspired by the Parisian Love Bridge, guests could also contribute to the 911 love wall where nine hundred and eleven people got to write their love for their car on a padlock and leave it on the mesh fence. This wall now remains on display at the Ali & Sons showroom where visitors can continue contributing and leaving their own messages.
Among the many highlights, Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and the Yas Marina Circuit unveiled the new Yas Electrified livery on the new Porsche Taycan Turbo S that’s available to book for hot laps through the Yas Drive School.
Alongside the new Taycan and Macan BEV on display, visitors also witnessed the reveal of the new Porsche 911 992.2 Coupe and Cabriolet with the first batches handed over to customers on site while at the other end of the spectrum, classic car lovers were spoilt for choice with a stunning display of the rarest and most valuable cars from Porsche’s past including the desirable 911 R, 930 Turbo and 911 Spyder.
Local team Rabdan Motorsport
On track, Emirati team Rabdan Motorsport was competing after a stellar third place finish in the Dubai 24-Hour race two weeks earlier. Sponsored by Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, driver Saif Al Ameri put on a strong display qualifying in 16th position for both races and finishing Race One in 17th after a collision involving another driver and the second race in 15th place among a competitive field.
“Supporting Rabdan Motorsport has been enormously rewarding to see an Emirati team take on the best from Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia and more is immensely satisfying,” said Mohamed Al Daheri, Managing Director of Ali & Sons Motors.
“It shows the direction that motorsport is taking in the UAE where we can take on the world’s best in identical cars.”
Stiak wins again
Current championship leader, 17-year old German Janne Stiak continued his winning streak, starting from pole position on Saturday, 25th of January and taking the chequered flag 2.6 seconds ahead of Briton James Wallis and Australian rookie Calleb Sumich in third, 7.2 seconds behind. The young driver maintained his dominance on Sunday, 26th of January, clinching another victory to extend his lead in the championship.
Saudi Racing leads Pro-Am battle
Finishing first and second in the Pro-AM and the GCC class were the Saudi team mates of Saud Al Saud and Khaled Alahmadi for Saudi Racing.
Stiak made it two from two on Sunday, winning the second race by over 10 seconds from Wallis who climbed back from 6th on the grid with Australian rookie Sumich in third. Khaled Alahmadi finished fifth to win both the ProAM category and the GCC classes for Saudi Racing with his team mate and ProAM / GCC points leader Saud Al Saud in 11th.
The fifth round of the 2024/25 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain on 11 to 13 April 2025 which falls on the same day of the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix.
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