ABU DHABI // A weekend of Real Action Heroes on Yas Island will begin and end with Tony Hawk.
Hawk, the first skateboarder to complete a full 900-degree manoeuvre in competition, will perform at 3.45 pm today and 8.30pm tomorrow on a half-pipe that was imported from the US.
Between Hawk's shows, there will be a packed schedule of motor racing, and guitar legend Eric Clapton will entertain crowds tonight.
The main event will be the V8 auto race. Martin Whitaker, the chief executive officer of V8 Supercars Australia, promised "handle-to-handle racing", with lots of action, high-speed passing and some cars swapping paint.
Hoping not to be swapping any paint in his V8 car will be Alex Davison, a member of the Irwin Racing team. "It is extremely hot in the cockpit, they are noisy, they rattle, and those that have enjoyed a hotlap have describe them as brutal, which is pretty much spot on," said the 31-year-old Australian.
"From the outside they look like aggressive cars to drive, but because of the lack of grip you are really driving them with your fingertips," he said.
To beat the heat - which could reach up to 70 degrees in the cockpit - Davison will be wearing a "cool suit", a T-shirt with a series of tubes sewn into its front and back.
"It creates cool air that comes directly into my helmet - it makes breathing within the confines of a helmet much more pleasant."
The GP2 Asia - one notch below Formula One - will also kick off its season at Yas Marina Circuit this weekend, and locals teams will compete in modified road cars in a GT race.
Meanwhile, the Yas Hotel will be raising funds for the victims of the recent floods in Australia.
Gates open at 1pm; tickets for entry to the site start at Dh50, and Dh250 gets you into the Eric Clapton concert; a combined ticket is available for Dh270.
Free parking will be available, and buses will ferry passengers from Abu Dhabi and Dubai.