Click here to register and enter Round 3, the grand finale, of the 2009 Endurance Challenge 24 Hours of Dubai
24 November 2009
Motorsport News
2009 Nivea for Men Endurance Challenge
Build-up to Round 3 at the Kartdrome
Entries coming in from around the globe for Nivea for Men 24 Hours season finale
Traditionally the final round of the 2009 Nivea for Men Endurance Challenge, 24 Hours of Dubai at the Airdrome, is the most popular edition of the three round championship. This year is no different as entries are coming uin thick and fast from not only the UAE and Gulf region, but also from Europe, UK and Asia.
Organisers are expecting a full grid of 40 teams competing in one of the most prestigious leisure karting endurance series’ in the world. Kartdrome manager David Terrien commented, “The grnad finale of this year’s Nivea for Men Challenge is probably going to be one of the best. Each year, in fact each race, we see teams improving and getting stronger. The field in the October race, round 2, was the closest we have ever seen. As a result the racing was very tight throughout the 24 hours of racing.”
Championship leaders and winners of the first two rounds, the Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum led NFM Professionals, are going to find the going tougher than usual. In October they were pushed all the way by Team Grohe. The event invariably attracts foreign teams and this time around there will be an even larger “foreign invasion” with a number of pro and semi-pro teams, from France, Germany, Russia, UK, Turkey, Seychelles and Venezuela, who will be going all out to defeat the local squads on their “home” track.
Apart from the foreign contingent there will be “usual suspects” from the UAE and region. As mentioned Team Grohe will have a formidable line-up, as will previous winners Batelco from Bahrain, Ocean Rubber and the perennial challengers Top Performance Speedsters, while two new teams from Oman enter the fray as unknown quantities.
The fastest growing category, which is effectively a “race win the race”, is the Corporate Challenge which is the battleground for company teams with drivers made up of staff members. This has become not only a team building opportunity for corporate teams but also a fierce competition among the teams striving to be the best placed corporate team.
Coupled to the prestige of winning, or even doing well in Dubai, is the fact that the 24 Hours races count for points in the Sodi W-Series leisure karting world ranking. Which will see the top points scoring teams from around the globe compete in a world final 24 Hour shootout. Valauble points are up for grabs.
Although a few places remain on the starting grid Terrien is urging teams to enter for the 11/12 December round before it is too late. “We find that with a couple of weeks to go teams who want to enter are forced on to the waiting list and invariably causes disappointment, although we have a waiting list, we normally have no cancellations.”
As the last major motorsport event of the 2009 season the Nivea for Men Challenge will have a festival atmosphere. With 40 teams, over 200 drivers, their support crews, families and friends. The start at 2pm is a not to be missed spectacle, as are the early hours of the race when the pace is fast and furious. While the couple of hours before the chequered flag is always intriguing to watch.
Click here to register and enter Round 3, the grand finale, of the 2009 Endurance Challenge 24 Hours of Dubai