ABU DHABI // Eight weeks ahead of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Al Tareq Al Ameri, the chief executive of Yas Marina Circuit, is confident the event will sell out for a sixth successive year.
Speaking on Monday at the launch of the track’s 2014/15 calendar, Al Ameri said 85 per cent of the 60,000 tickets available for the race, the final round of the 2014 F1 season, which will also be the sport’s first double-points race, had been sold.
"We can report that tickets are selling fast and that with two months to go there are only 15 per cent of tickets available," he said.
Al Ameri expects the announcement on Tuesday of the musical artists who will perform in the post-race concerts during the weekend will lead to a late push for the remaining tickets for the race, where the F1 drivers' title seems set to be decided. Britain's Lewis Hamilton holds a three-point lead over Mercedes-GP teammate Nico Rosberg with only four races to go before they arrive in the UAE.
“We hope to close our sales faster than ever before after the concerts are revealed,” Al Ameri said.
The grand prix remains the focal point of the activities at Yas Marina, but Al Ameri announced the circuit's first single-make motorsport championship, the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) 86 Cup, which will hold its inaugural round from December 11-13.
The series will see drivers pay Dh150,000 to receive a Toyota 86 Cup car, based on the TMG GT86 CS-V3 car, with which they will race in six race weekends over the winter months.
“This is a chance for motorsport enthusiasts to get behind the wheel and enjoy the exhilaration of competitive racing on our world-class track,” Al Ameri said.
“It is also a fantastic opportunity for fans and enthusiasts of the sport, offering them a route from spectating into participating.”
The racing will be split into two categories, Masters and Rookies, with drivers placed in the category that best fits their motorsport experience.
The package for participants includes a waiver on race fees for the first season and two free track days at Yas Marina. Faisal Al Sahlawi, the track’s head of business development, hopes the series can help develop talented young Emirati racers.
“All cars competing in the TRD 86 Cup are identical. This is a drivers’ championship,” he said.
Also new to Yas Marina will be the first staging of the Abu Dhabi Rally, which takes place on October 16-17.
The event, being organised by Yas Motor Racing Club in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Racing, will see one 2.2-kilometre stage take place on the Yas Marina Circuit’s North Handling Track on October 16, before a further eight gravel stages the following day, starting in Ghantoot.
The rally is being held as a candidate event to become a round of the Middle East Rally Championship from next year.
Elsewhere on the schedule, the Gulf 12 Hour endurance race will take place over the weekend of December 11-13, with more than 120 cars set to compete, an increase on the 2013 field.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE