Hailing from the UK, Andrew Donaldson  is a very accomplished racer with a wealth of racing experience. When he came to Dubai and became an instructor at the Dubai Autodrome, he has shared his skills and knowledge with many budding racers and motor sports enthusiasts.

Andrew was offered a ride in the UAE GT Championship series by Mr Rassouli late in the game but he took the challenge and ran the Cytec Porsche Cup S. In the races that he was able to run, Andrew brought the challenge to the top runners and had the pace to be a true contender in the championship had he started right at the beginning of the season. His pace was as such that he was able to run the Cytech Porsche Cup S at the front of the field an gave notice to the points runners.

“[Everything was] very last minute.  I had a few emails and calls from Mr Rassouli’s office and the next week I was on a plane to drive a 997 Cup S in the UAE GT Championship.  It was great fun only a shame due to a hectic business schedule that Mr Rassouli couldn’t drive with me as planned, it would also have been nice to start at the start of the season and to score points also.”

“I went into the last round looking forward to a good battle with Karim after I had a bad previous round but it was not to be with TAM/HOP pulling out from the last round and the very sad passing of my friend Christophe,” shared Donaldson.

During the last season, Andrew had a couple of memorable moments as would any driver of his caliber in a competitive class. “Definite highlight will be getting in a car I have never driven and going faster on my first flying lap than the 997 Cups had before and then in qualifying the next day pushing Karim 2 seconds faster than he had been before.”

“We later found we had to optimize the setup to make the Dunlops last against the outright fastest lap which is why on the weekend I won we were able to pull a lot of time on the Corvette in the later stage after the pit stops.”

“The scrap between Julian Griffin (Viper) and Sean Edwards (Porsche) was very memorable and we all enjoyed it.  I wish there could have been more like that in the races I did.”

“Very competitive, if we had started at the start of the season we would have been quicker than the Corvette out the box in the early rounds and could have made a good go for the Championship because we know we would have also been quicker later in the season.”

Not one to sit still, Andrew is using the off season in Dubai to race a few International endurance events, including a ride in a VW at the Funcup 25Hr at Spa (pending confirmation) with Mark Donaldson, Ian Donaldson, his brother and father, respectively, and Chris Drake. He will also be testing in Spain at Albacete, later this month at Nogaro, Belcar Spa 3Hr and Funcup 25Hr, British GP at Rockingham and Silverstone GP- a busy schedule, indeed.

“We have a busy schedule for July and August which I will have confirmed in the next few days for the Cytec Porsche and we will run in British GT, Belguim, Britcar and GT Open possibly.  I want Mr Rassouli to race in Europe and see the professional level which is taken over there from the driving to the teams.  I believe it will stand us in a better position for next season.”

As for next season, Donaldson hopes to come back and compete in the UAE GT Championship and is in talks with a couple of possible teams and sponsors. His goal will obviously be to take the crown and win the championship outright. This should be a welcome challenge to the top teams and drivers from last season and will prove to make for a very competitive year.

Photos by Salman Ashrafi and Darren Rycroft

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>> NOTABLE DRIVING ACHIEVEMENTS:

“We’ve moved forward and we will not settle for anything less than first place from now on,” Al Mutawa told Gulf News after winning both races of the Cytech UAE Touring Car Championship held at the Dubai Autodrome on Friday.

Though challenged till the end by the likes of Jonathan Simmons and Khalid Bin Dhaher, the two top finishes see Al Mutawa at the top of the standings with four races still to go in Class 1.

“We are into the second part of the season and this time has been used to sort out all problems we had earlier with the car.

We are at a completely different level now, and though competition is bound to be tight in the remaining races, I feel confident I can end at the top,” he added.

Good job

Work on Al Mutawa’s car during the break at the end of the year has seen the Emirati driver shave off nearly three seconds from the last time he competed. “Car Motor Engineering gets the credit for doing such a good job on the car,” he added.

Equally dominant on the evening were Karim Al Azhari and Arushen Moodley in the Total UAE GT Championship and the UAE Sportbike Championship.

Al Azhari made it a clean sweep on Friday winning both the races ahead of a stronger and keener opposition that included the likes of Raed Hassan in a Ginetta, Andrew Donaldson in a Muhlner Motorsport prepared Cytech Porsche GT3 Cup and some stiff competition from Khaleji Motorsport cars.

Moodley, on the other hand, was way ahead of the pack on his Aprilia leaving behind Kawasaki’s Scott Smart, Qatar’s Honda rider Yousuf Al Malki and Dubai-based Yamaha rider Rod Scott.

The Gulf Sport Radical Cup witnessed honours squared between Jordon Grogor and David Field in the two races held on Friday.

• By Alaric Gomes,Senior Reporter, Published: 00:00 January 31, 2010, Gulf News.