The Gulf ProCar 2024/25 Championship arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit for the final visit to the iconic waterfront venue of the season.

This Round took place on the 3.005km North Circuit Layout, a speedway style configuration which delivers close racing amongst it’s 10 corners.

4 classes were represented at Round 5, in warmer conditions than the last round as we approach the end of winter in the Emirates. This round offered an opportunity for many drivers to make an impact and state dominance in the points standings as we head into the final rounds of the 2024/25 championship.

Class RC featured the sole entrant of series newcomer, Alex Klebanov supported by Continental Racing. Klebanov is an exciting young prospect that makes the switch to Gulf ProCar after a campaign in the official Clio series.

Class 3, dedicated to GT4 machinery, featured the returning David Frederick von Rosen in his Porsche 718 GT4 RS supported by Team Neuhofer Rennsport.

Class 86, featured 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. All three drivers were separated by a total of 30 points in the standings ahead of Round 5. In particular, Anwar and Alshawaf were separated by a mere 5 points.

Class 2 featured two Gulf ProCar debuting Porsche 992 Cup cars entered by ARMotos with support from Porsche specialists, HRT Performance. The first of the two ARMotors Porsches was Alex Renner Jr. in the #9, and a last minute entry of Ibby Hadeed with internet sensation Suellio Almeida, who shared the driving duties of the #91. In addition, Gulf ProCar veteran Masoud Jaberian returned for the second consecutive round, behind the wheel of his Ferrari 296 Challenge with support from Dragon Racing.

(Left) Avik Anwar #71 - Racing DNA
(Right) David Frederick Von Rosen #23 - Team Neuhofer Rennsport

Class RC & Class 3

Qualifying
Alex Klebanov #8 posted a time of 1:16.108 in qualifying, placing him fifth overall and over a second quicker than his closest rivals in the Toyota GT86 cars. The North Circuit highlighted the importance of maintaining momentum throughout the lap in a Clio Cup car, but Klebanov demonstrated this with ease.

David Frederick von Rosen #23 finished the qualifying session with a best time of 1:06.810, putting him in fourth place overall. This was an outstanding effort by von Rosen considering his time was within a second of the #9 Porsche 992 Cup, despite being underpowered on a layout that was so straight line speed dependant.

Race 1
Klebanov ran a consistent race, taking full advantage of the track time on offer, as he built on his circuit racing experience. Klebanov maintained his starting position to finish Race 1 in fifth place overall and as the Class RC winner.

The story was very much alike for von Rosen, a supreme display of pace and consistency as he challenged the 992 Cup cars in the early stages of the Race. The #23 briefly took 3rd place after capitalising on a mistake from the 992 Cup of Ibby Hadeed, but came home to finish in 4th place overall and as the Class 3 winner.

David Frederick von Rosen #23 - Team Neuhofer Rennsport

Race 2
Alex Klebanov ran a faultless race once again and avoided track limits penalties, not such an easy task considering the circuit layout. Klebanov quickly cleared the Toyota GT86 cars to finish in fifth place overall and as the winner in Class RC.

David Frederick von Rosen carried through his uber consistent performance from Race 1, posing a threat to the Porsche 992 Cup cars in Class 2 during the early stages of the race. As a reward for a stellar effort at managing the gap to the front running cars, von Rosen secured third position overall after a post race penalty in Class 2 and finished as the Class 3 winner.

Class 86

Qualifying
The Class 86 competitors engaged in a close fight in qualifying. Nadim Haddad #47 and Naif Fakher Alshawaf #31 setting competitive times, whilst Avik Anwar #71 battled a VVT-i activation issue that carried through from the morning Warm-Up session. The naturally aspirated Toyotas relied on precision and momentum throughout the lap, factors that are highlighted by the short layout used in Round 5. Haddad took pole position with a fastest lap of 1:17.143, followed by Alshawaf and then Anwar.

Race 1
Nadim Haddad #47 took the Class 86 win, after a dominant driving display from the Jordanian. Nadim mastered the race start and was able to pull away from his fellow Class 86 drivers, finishing with a 15.517 second buffer to Avik Anwar #71. Anwar was able to resolve the troubles with his Toyota GT86 prior to the session, and quickly made his way past Naif Alshawaf #31 in the opening stages of Race 1. Alshawaf ran a consistent race, but did not have the pace to mach Anwar or Haddad, finishing third in class.

Race 2
Nadim Haddad #47 carried his form froward into Race 2, mastering the race start and displaying untouchable pace once again. Haddad even took the fight to the faster Renault Clio of Alex Klebanov at the start, but later settled into a rhythm to comfortably finish as the winner of Class 86, 14.642 seconds ahead of second place. Naif Alshawaf #31 delivered a strong performance, managing to hold off the pressure from Avik Anwar #71 to finish second in class. Anwar struggled to match the pace of those ahead, but brought the car home in third position to collect valuable points for his championship push.

Naif Alshawaf #31 - ROWE by Trackdays.ae

Class 2

Qualifying
Masoud Jaberian #92 secured pole position in his Ferrari 296 Challenge, with a fastest lap time of 1:03.168. Despite missing Friday practice, Jaberian utilised his experience and wasted no time in finding the pace on the North layout of Yas Marina Circuit. The first of the Porsche 992 Cup cars was Ibby Hadeed and Suellio Almeida #91 who qualified second in Class 2, a strong performance from the pair considering they only completed a handful of laps in practice. Alex Renner Jr. #9 followed in third place, also an impressive showing for his debut in a Porsche 992 Cup.

Race 1
Masoud Jaberian #92 dominated the race from start to finish, clocking the fastest lap at 1:04.149 on lap 16. Alex Renner Jr. #9 put up a spirited chase but had to settle for second as he built familiarity with the machine. Ibby Hadeed #91, who also had not experienced a Porsche 992 Cup previously, secured third after a solid drive and withstood the fight from the Class 3 car of von Rosen. The Porsche duo struggled to match the Ferrari’s outright pace but remained competitive throughout the session. This layout, in particular, showcased the staggering performance of the Ferrari 296 Challenge and Porsche 992 Cup, a power dependant configuration where these magnificent cars are able to stretch their legs.

Ibby Hadeed & Suellio Almeida #91 - ARMotors

Race 2
Suellio Almeida #91 took the Class 2 victory in Race 2, an eye-opening display of talent from the Brazilian as he exhibited immense pace and versatility in this race, and the weekend as a whole. Alex Renner Jr. #9 followed in second place after another fantastic performance with noticeable development with every lap that he completed. Renner’s race was unfortunately hampered by track limit infringements, which took him out of the fight for the win in class and overall. Masoud Jaberian #92 had initially crossed the finish line in first place, however a post race Stewards investigation resulted in a 3 place drop in the finishing order for crossing the pit-exit blend line. Jaberian was classified third in class and fourth place overall in the final results.

Looking ahead to Round 6

The Championship Points standings remain incredibly close across all of the classes. In Class 2, Alex G continues to lead the way with Rawad Sarieddine only 10 points behind. After another strong weekend, Masoud Jaberian moves up to third in the standings. David Frederick von Rosen extended his dominance of the Class 3 points standings, whilst Alex Klebanov jumps straight into second in the Class RC standings with a big points haul at Round 5. Points wise in Class 86, Avik Anwar and Naif Alshawaf had identical weekends, so their gap remains at only 5 points. Nadim Haddad made great progress towards his championship push, sitting third in the standings and only 20 points off Avik Anwar.

The Gulf ProCar Series will return to the Dubai Autodrome for the first visit of 2025, on March 7th-8th, for Round 6 of the Championship Season.

Round 6 is the penultimate round of the Gulf ProCar 2024/25 Championship Season and this could prove to be a deciding weekend for many drivers in the points standings. A thrilling weekend is in store and we are already counting down the days until we are back on the home soil of Dubai!