Rain puts pay to racing finale

The Dubai Grand Racing weekend came to a watery end after the final day of the event was cancelled due to overnight torrential rains which flooded many areas in and around the Dubai Autodrome. Several corners and the pitlane of the circuit were submerged under water. In some areas the level was over one metre deep and a statement from the stewards of the Federation International Automobile (FIA) said: "Following a track inspection by the race directors of the FIA GT3 Championship, GP2 Asia and the Speedcar Series, it is their collective view that the volume of water on the track, and the likelihood of there not being any improvement during the day, would make it impossible to run races safely.

"The stewards of the meeting therefore, in accordance with Article 141 of the 2008 FIA International Sporting Code, have accepted their advice and cancelled all races." Hamish Brown, the general executive of the Dubai Autodrome, accepted the decision and said: "Silt and debris has washed on to the circuit which exacerbated the problem. This was not helped by the fact that heavy rain continued in the morning."

On Friday, the opening day of the event, a record crowd witnessed Vitantonio Liuzzi making a winning debut in the Speedcar Series and Dams' Kamui Kobayashi took the chequered flag first in the GP2 Asia Series. James Ruffier and Arnaud Peyroles, who came to Dubai with an eight point lead and facing a tough challenge from five other drivers for the 2008 FIA GT3 European Championship title, settled the issue with victory in race one on Friday.

Patricia Kiefer, the FIA GT3 general manager, said: "We are disappointed and sorry for the Dubai Autodrome, who have put together such an exceptional event, with three great series such as the Speedcar, the GP2 Asian Series and the FIA GT3 European Championship. "We had a wonderful day of racing on Friday. Fortunately, the FIA GT3 European Championship titles were decided after the first race and we would like to congratulate our 2008 champions, James Ruffier, Arnaud Peyroles and Matech GT Racing."