The Gulf ProCar 2024/25 Championship returned, after a mid-season break, to Yas Marina Circuit for Round 4 on January 31st - February 1st.

This Round took place on the 4.572km GP Corkscrew Layout, which featured a challenging section after Turn 3, which brought the drivers down the hill and onto a shortened back straight.

Twelve cars, representing three classes, took to the track on Saturday in the fresh winter conditions of Abu Dhabi. All of the drivers arrived with the aim of accumulating a strong points haul from Round 4, as we near the crunch time of the season for the Championship Standings .

Class 4 was comprised of Daniel Jones in his #33 Renault Clio Cup Gen3, run by Kart Advisor Academy, and Krishna Reddy who returned in the original #11 Honda EP3 that he began the season with. Reddy went in to Round 4 with a healthy points lead in the Class 4 standings, contributed to by the absence of Jones in the previous two rounds. The plan was clear for each of the drivers.

Class 86, the dedicated class for Toyota GT86 machinery, featured returning season regulars; Avik Anwar in the #71 run by Racing DNA, Nadim Haddad in the #47 and Naif Fakher Alshawaf in the #31 run by Trackdays.ae. In addition, Nawaf Al Marzouq in the #86 joined the Gulf ProCar series for the first time. Class 86 points leader, Marios Giannoros and close contender, Omar Hiasat were unable to join for this Round, presenting the opportunity for the others to make inroads on the buffer that Giannoros and Hiasat held at the top.

Class 2 featured four Porsche 992 Cup cars which included points leader Rawad Sarieddine and his Baron Motorsport Teammate, Shawki El Armali. Enrico Fulgnezi Racing’s Alex G returned with a new teammate in Shaun Pendrigh, who joined the Gulf ProCar grid for the first time this weekend. In addition to the Porsches, the Dragon Racing duo of Masoud Jaberian Mahmoud and Fouad Al Ghanim brought a set of sparkling new Ferrari 296 Challenge Cars to the party. Fouad was another new driver to join the Gulf ProCar series this weekend, whilst it was a pleasure to welcome GPC veteran Masoud back to the grid.

Class 4

Qualifying
Daniel Jones (#33) topped qualifying in the Class 4 field with his Renault Clio Cup Gen3, setting a lap time of 2:12.856. Krishna Reddy (#11) followed in his Honda EP3 with a 2:18.804, but faced difficulties in matching the pace of Jones. An understandable result considering the limited testing time that Reddy had in the build up to the event. Both cars ran faultlessly, thanks to the work of their respective teams.

Race 1
Daniel Jones led Class 4 to victory in Race 1, maintaining control of the class from the start. Krishna Reddy set out to challenge Jones but simply did not have the pace to match, allowing Jones to build a comfortable gap. Reddy was later handed a 10-second penalty, applied to his total race time as the 25 minute Sprint elapsed. Despite this, Reddy brought the car home to finish second place in class.

Race 2
Daniel Jones secured a second win of the day in Class 4, demonstrating strong pace and consistency once again to complete the weekend clean sweep. Krishna Reddy had contact on the formation lap, dropping him down the order. He managed to continue but ultimately finished second, 35 seconds behind Jones. Despite stronger pace than Race 1, Reddy couldn't bridge the gap to the leader, as Jones controlled the race from start to finish.

Class 86

Qualifying
Nadim Haddad (#47) displayed no sign of rustiness from the mid-season break as he posted the fastest qualifying lap in Class 86 with a time of 2:10.819, edging out Avik Anwar (#71) by 0.935 seconds. Naif Fakher Alshawaf (#31) returned on his Championship push, securing third in class with a 2:14.767. Gulf ProCar series newcomer Nawaf Al Marzouq (#86) struggled for pace and qualified fourth with a 2:21.905. An uphill battle lay ahead for Al Marzouq, considering this was the first ever weekend of his competitive racing career.

Left: Nadim Haddad #47, Right: Avik Anwar #71 - Racing DNA

Race 1
Avik Anwar took the class win in Race 1 after a close battle with Nadim Haddad. Haddad crossed the line in front however, two track limits time penalties in the race bumped him down to second place in the final results. Naif Fakher Alshawaf had a steady race despite a moment of contact with Nawaf Al Marzouq, finishing third in class. Al Marzouq came off worse from the contact, forcing a retirement after just two laps due to mechanical issues.

Race 2
Nadim Haddad claimed the class win in Race 2 after a tense wheel-to-wheel battle with Avik Anwar. The two drivers exchanged places multiple times before Haddad pulled away in the final laps after a sublime move into the hotel section. Naif Fakher Alshawaf finished third after a consistent drive, while Nawaf Al Marzouq failed to finish, retiring after just one lap due to contact on the formation lap.

Class 2

Qualifying
Masoud Jaberian Mahmoud (#92) secured pole position in qualifying with a blistering lap of 1:47.739 in his Ferrari 296 Challenge, edging out the Porsche 992 Cup of Alex Giannone (#44) narrowly by 0.242 seconds. Fouad Al Ghanim (#24) rounded out the top three, ensuring a strong showing for himself in his first competitive weekend and for the Ferrari 296 Challenge cars as a whole. Shaun Pendrigh (#74) qualified fourth with a time of 1:56.298, an commendable time considering this weekend was Shaun's first experience of a Porsche Cup car. Both Porsche 992 Cup cars of Shawki El Armali (#82) and Rawad Sarieddine (#37) had their lap times deleted from the Qualifying session, due to a technical infringement in post session scrutineering.

Race 1
Masoud Jaberian Mahmoud continued his dominance, winning Race 1, setting the fastest lap of 1:47.908. Alex Giannone pushed on but ultimately finished 14.390 seconds behind. Fouad Al Ghanim had a strong start but lost ground to Giannone early on, eventually settling for third, finishing 1:29.276 behind the leader. Shawki El Armali charged through the pack, gained a class position early in the race and fought hard to maintain fourth, while Shaun Pendrigh dropped a spot but still finished in the top five. Rawad Sarieddine struggled with mid-race consistency and finished in sixth, still a strong effort considering that he was carrying light damage on the car and started from the back of the grid.

Rawad Sarieddine #37 & Shawki El Armali #82 - Baron Motorsport

Race 2
Masoud Jaberian Mahmoud wrapped up the clean sweep, taking another win in Race 2 with a fastest lap of 1:47.707. Alex Giannone had a better start and briefly challenged Mahmoud in the opening laps but ultimately finished second, 8.298 seconds behind. Fouad Al Ghanim struggled at the start and lost a position to Shawki El Armali but regained third place with a decisive overtake midway through the race. Shawki El Armali ran a steady race to finish fourth from twelfth on the grid overall, while Rawad Sarieddine also made his way through the field to complete the top five. Shaun Pendrigh elected not to take the start for Race 2, classifying him as a DNS in the results.

Looking ahead to Round 5

The points standings are heating up! Alex G jumps above Rawad Sarieddine in the Class 2 standings, after a consistent performance in Round 4. Sarieddine is only 10 points behind Alex G, so this battle is far from over!
Daniel Jones closed the gap to Krishna Reddy with a dominant display this weekend, the gap between the two now sits at only 2 points with 3 rounds to go.
Avik Anwar takes the lead of the Class 86 championship, thanks to a strong performance at Round 4 and the absence of previous points leader Marios Giannoros this weekend. Naif Fakher Alshawaf follows in second place, only 4 points adrift of Anwar.

In just over 2 weeks, the Gulf ProCar Series will return to Yas Marina Circuit for Round 5 of the Championship Season.

Round 5 will be a crucial weekend for all competitors and the points standings. All classes remain incredibly close, with a heap of points still up for grabs as we approach closing rounds of the 2024/25 Gulf ProCar Series.