F4UAE: AMNA AL QUBAISI DOMINATES RACE 1 AT YAS MARINA CIRCUIT
Emirati driver Amna Al Qubaisi led from start to finish in Race 1 of F4UAE’s Trophy Round at Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.
The 19-year-old led from pole and held off an early challenge from Nicola Marinangeli before pulling away to take victory in the 25-minute race.
The top two would be in a class of their own at the front, but the battle for third would be fierce.
Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm held off a gaggle of cars throughout, but on the final lap, he suffered a suspension failure approaching Turn 8, promoting Alex Connor onto the podium for Xcel Motorsport.
Jordan’s Manaf Hijjawi would drop down to eighth from sixth on the grid at the start, but made some strong overtakes to eventually claim fourth.
He would lead the second Al Qubaisi sister Hamda in fifth for Abu Dhbai Racing and Nico Goehler in sixth.
Portugal’s Rodrigo Almeida followed in seventh, with Logan Hannah moving up from the back of the grid to eighth for Dream Racing.
Mehrbod Shameli held position in ninth as Austrian Constantin Reisch completed the top 10.
Van der Helm would be classified 11th despite his late crash, as Reema Juffali finished a lap down and Ivan Peklin retired.
Race 2 comes on Sunday at Yas Marina, with Amna looking to conduct a clean sweep of the F4UAE Trophy Round.
Khaled Al Qubaisi, father of Amna and Hamda, said: “I’m extremely proud of my daughters, they made the whole UAE proud today, and that’s all what we wanted – to raise the UAE flag up high in this extremely important event held in our beloved country.
This is crowning all the efforts that went into getting them to this point. Thanks to HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed for supporting motorsports and young talent.
The 19-year-old led from pole and held off an early challenge from Nicola Marinangeli before pulling away to take victory in the 25-minute race.
The top two would be in a class of their own at the front, but the battle for third would be fierce.
Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm held off a gaggle of cars throughout, but on the final lap, he suffered a suspension failure approaching Turn 8, promoting Alex Connor onto the podium for Xcel Motorsport.
Jordan’s Manaf Hijjawi would drop down to eighth from sixth on the grid at the start, but made some strong overtakes to eventually claim fourth.
He would lead the second Al Qubaisi sister Hamda in fifth for Abu Dhbai Racing and Nico Goehler in sixth.
Portugal’s Rodrigo Almeida followed in seventh, with Logan Hannah moving up from the back of the grid to eighth for Dream Racing.
Mehrbod Shameli held position in ninth as Austrian Constantin Reisch completed the top 10.
Van der Helm would be classified 11th despite his late crash, as Reema Juffali finished a lap down and Ivan Peklin retired.
Race 2 comes on Sunday at Yas Marina, with Amna looking to conduct a clean sweep of the F4UAE Trophy Round.
Khaled Al Qubaisi, father of Amna and Hamda, said: “I’m extremely proud of my daughters, they made the whole UAE proud today, and that’s all what we wanted – to raise the UAE flag up high in this extremely important event held in our beloved country.
This is crowning all the efforts that went into getting them to this point. Thanks to HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed for supporting motorsports and young talent.