Yas Marina Circuit

The United Arab Emirates is home to two world-class racing circuits. The most recent of which is the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit. This is a modern racing facility with an air of Monte Carlo with its marina. It also has a drag strip incorporated in its design. Part of this drag strip is to try to provide an outreach for the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) to extend NHRA drag racing into the Middle East. This Middle Eastern collaboration was made complete with the Al-Anabi Racing team collaborating with Don Schumacher Racing. Besides F1, other series have raced at this course like the Australian V8 Supercar Series, and the Australian V8 Supercar Series races on a shorter configuration for their Desert 400 race. Races are usually run at night at this course (perhaps not to bear racing in the brutal Middle Eastern heat). No worries- this track has VERY sufficient lighting to light up the track at night. The track mostly has lots of lighting and palm trees. No matter how you look at it, this is one racing facility that will blow your mind with its futuristic appeal.

This blog post is my post about the Yas Marina Circuit. A special hello to all of my readers from the United Arab Emirates who may be reading this post. I hope my post will be to your liking. After my post on the Bahrain International Circuit, I incorporated another label...

About the Label: "Middle East"

The "Middle East" label pertains to topics regarding or related to the Middle East. It is a way that I think I can get some more Middle East readers to John's Blog Space. Hello to all of my Middle Eastern readers and visitors to John's Blog Space.

--- Yas Marina Circuit ---

Here is a look at this circuit's two layouts:


^ from: http://f1singaporegp.wordpress.com - While not the first modern motor racing facility in the Middle East, Yas Marina Circuit is surely the most spectacular facility in the Middle East, even besting the Dubai Autodrome.


^ from: this article on www.speedcafe.com.au (best I could find) - This modified configuration of Yas Marina Circuit features a Corkscrew configuration and is usually raced on by the Australian V8 Supercar Series.

Over twenty corners and 3.451 miles (or 5.554 kilometers) define this course. It can be found on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is a very expensive facility with Ferrari World Abu Dhabi as part of the facility as well as a golf course and many other high-end recreational facilities. The area between Turns 7 and 8 make up the drag strip area of this course. After Turn 13 and before Turn 19, this complex of corners features the marina area of this course, where some boats and yachts are docked. This track was basically designed to give a Monte Carlo feel to the United Arab Emirates. Many people will immediately discredit this course as just another "Tilke-drome." It would easily be discredited as another modern racing facility with no character or personality unlike more popular or more intense Grand Prix courses. The Australian V8 Supercar Series races a 19-turn, 2.92-mile (or 4.7 kilometer) configuration for when they do the Desert 400 around Bahrain. This shorter configuration breaks off just after Turn 3 and uses about two-thirds of the long backstretch. At night, the track is definitely eye-catching with its lights around the whole course. It may not be the Marina Bay Street Course in Singapore, but it is certainly eye candy.

Just looking at the configuration, Turns 7, 8, and the entire complex between Turns 14 and 20 are the most complex. One of the biggest complaints about this course is the tunnel when exiting pit lane. Some have complained that there aren't as many high-speed corners at this track to make racing interesting. It does have a nice flow early on before the left-right complex that leads to the hairpin at Turn 7. The flow of the course almost seems like a temporary street course. And when you consider the marina section of the course, you begin to feel a bit more like you're on a street circuit rather than on a permanent course. There is not too much runoff road or off-road areas around most parts of the track, so a vicious crash or a pileup of cars can be pretty messy around a track like Yas Marina Circuit.

Video Lap.

This is the best video I could find and use in showing you the track as it is. It was taken from 2010. Watch this full speed video at night around the lovely Yas Marina Circuit's Grand Prix layout:

Lap Records.

Both are records as of (November 4, 2011):
Sebastien Vettel holds the lap record around the Grand Prix configuration with a lap time of 1:40.279 from his Red Bull car. The V8 Supercar configuration lap record was set by Charles Pic in GP2 Asia, with a lap time of 1:37.656.





That concludes this blog post. You can visit yasmarinacircuit.com to learn more about this racing facility. This track even has its own YouTube channel. To see videos from this track's YouTube channel, check out YasMarinaCircuit on YouTube. Thank you for reading!

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