International line-up announced for inaugural Formula Trophy UAE

 

 

• Seven races across three rounds starting November 29
• Top junior single seater drivers and teams guarantee high benchmark
• Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Autodrome to host debut season

 

 

Sensational racing is guaranteed from the competitors in the Formula Trophy UAE as they fight it out over seven races across three weekends at the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Autodrome. 

 

More than 20 talented racers from all corners of the globe are already entered for the series. Following a test at the Dubai venue on 28 November, they fight out a triple-header at the track on 29 November-1 December, with one race on Saturday and two on Sunday. They then make the short trip to Yas Marina for the prestige F4 UAE Trophy supporting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 6-8 December, with the Saturday and Sunday race each acting as the curtain raiser for the day’s Formula 1 activities. A few days later, the Formula Trophy UAE series concludes, again at Yas Marina, on 13-14 December, with two races on Saturday in support of the Gulf 12 Hours.

 

 

The series, like the upcoming Formula Middle East Championship which takes place in the Gulf region across January and February, is promoted by Shanghai-based Top Speed. Italian single-seater powerhouse Prema Racing is a staunch supporter of the organization’s championships and its driver Rashid Al Dhaheri has to start as a favourite to score some race wins. The local driver hails from Abu Dhabi itself, took two race wins in the F4 UAE Championship early this year, and arrives fresh from an impressive Formula Regional race debut in the Macau Grand Prix. Al Dhaheri is joined by Salim Hanna. The Colombian is a graduate of Prema’s karting team and is celebrating his 15th birthday in the nick of time to be eligible to take his first steps in F4. Another to join the Prema enclave is Chi Zhenrui, the Chinese national another karting hot property making the move into cars. 

 

Top Speed successfully reintroduced F4 to Australia in 2024, and the champion of that series, Jimmy Piszcyk, returns to the Middle East for the first time since early last year with the AGI Sport squad with which he has been victorious in 2024. AGI fields a strong group of drivers, including Nicolas Stati, runner-up to Piszcyk in Australia this year and second in the USA series, so arriving with plenty of F4 success under his belt. From Singapore to AGI’s line-up comes Nooris Gafoor, who ran consistently in Indian F4 in 2023, while from the UK hails Emily Cotty, who made one late-season outing in British F4.

 

 

Heading to the Evans GP squad for the Formula Trophy UAE action is Seth Gilmore, who placed fourth in the Australian rankings with AGI this season. He is joined by Indian Kai Daryanani, a familiar name to followers of Middle East F4 action who focused on the British championship this season and was also a race winner – with Evans GP – in the Australian series.

 

Dubai-based Xcel Motorsport has notched up many successes and titles in F4 UAE, and after venturing to the British F4 Championship for the first time this season it returns to much warmer climes with a potent line-up. Welsh youngster Ella Lloyd impressed sufficiently in her first season of single-seaters in British F4, with four podiums, to be invited to compete as a wildcard in the all-female F1 Academy series at the Singapore Grand Prix. Another driver in the Xcel line-up with good F4 pedigree is Singapore’s Kabir Anurag, who has raced in the mightily competitive Italian and Euro 4 series this year. Stepping up from karting is promising South African Cole Hewetson, with the Xcel flotilla completed by India’s Ary Bansal, who made a very respectable debut recently in the Spanish championship.

 

Another local team on which eyes will be focused is the Yas Heat Academy, particularly as the name of Al Azhari is among its entry for the series; not Keanu, the talented Dubai racer who narrowly missed out on this year’s UAE title but instead his younger brother Adam, who joined his sibling in Spanish F4 as soon as he was old enough this summer. Joining him is August Raber, the UAE-based Swede who has been racing in British F4 with Xcel in 2024 and shown some good form.

 

For X GP, meanwhile, there are two interesting candidates. Fu Yuhao finished fourth with two race wins in his native China this year and also competed in the UAE and British F4 championships. Chase Fernandez was runner-up this season in the UK’s Ginetta Junior series – the same contest that produced 2024 F4 UAE champion Freddie Slater – before taking his F4 bow in the final two rounds of the Spanish championship. 

 

 

Intriguingly, Chinese F4 Championship team Champ Motorsport is also joining the fray over the three events to measure itself and its drivers against the worldwide competition. Jia Zhanbin had a super-consistent season – 14 points finishes in 18 races – to take sixth in the points this year in China, while Meng Cheng made the switch from endurance racing to join the F4 grid at the end of the year. Another Chinese contender, Wang Yuzhe, is making the trip to compete with Pinnacle Motorsport after finishing fifth in his domestic series in 2024.

 

With more contestants expected to swell the field in the final days before action begins, it’s looking set to be a thrilling series of races to decide the first-ever Formula Trophy UAE crown.