So, how do you celebrate a 5th anniversary? Well, if, like us, you have petrol in your veins, you head straight to a racetrack. The Nurburgring in Germany is my Mecca. But, how many of you would make a trip to Europe just to get onto a racetrack – that to, the most fearsome road course in the world?

No, we had to keep it real as well – or at least attempt to anyhow. The destination had to be close by and easily accessible. Dubai is an adult playground, and a hot favourite with Indians. Not only can you go on a desert safari, spot a camel, and enjoy a belly dance – as you may imagine – but you can also check out a ski slope right in the middle of the city. Now, if that doesn’t spell ‘Fantasy Land,’ I don’t know what does!

As luck would have it, the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, is also home to the most stunning modern Grand Prix circuit in the world – Yas Marina. And, speaking of fantasy land, the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit is located on Yas Island – a man-made island off the coast of Abu Dhabi – and an hour-and-a-half drive from the skyscrapers of Dubai.

Yas Marina was designed (by Herman Tilke of course) as an Arabian version of the legendary street circuit in Monaco. This one, naturally, is four times wider and a hundred times safer – with its expansive bright blue concrete run-offs and thoroughly modern race control.

Turn 1 is a tight left hander, which leads to a series of long undulating corners that are an absolute treat at full blast – if you’re allowed the privilege that is (which was a slight issue in our case that we’ll address later on). Turns 5 and 6 combine to make a fast chicane that takes you into the stadium section. Turn 7 is a wide hairpin left that leads onto one of the longest straights on the F1 calendar (on which, believe it or not, we had to follow a speed limit). Turn 8 is a double-apex left hander that then flows nicely in the opposite direction – allowing you to carry some speed onto the start-finish straight once again. Well, that’s 3-odd kilometers of the North Loop, which is used by the Racing School, on which we were running. The full track is 21 spectacular corners and 5.5 kilometers.




The purpose of our test was to compare the relative performance between full-blown racing cars – like the Maserati Trofeo GranTursimo, Aston Martin GT4, and the Yas Supersport SST – with some serious performance machines for the street – such as the Maserati GranTursimo MC Stradale and Audi R8 V10 Spyder. Now, the aim wasn’t to set lap times to gauge the performance differential – we had neither the time nor the permission from the track – but it was more to gauge just how these machines differ in character, and also how much of that race-car feel you actually get in a driver focussed modern sports car.

And we had quite the collection of machines. Yas Marina was kind enough to allow us use of their two race cars from their Driving School – the Aston Martin GT4, which is a completely stripped out and lightened version of the V8 Vantage with its 4.7 litre engine producing well in excess of 400bhp, while the SST is a Radical that’s every bit the mini Le Mans racer, with its 200-plus bhp-per-ton.

Maserati was equally kind in bringing its Trofeo, which is another thoroughbred race car used in a one-make racing series in Europe (and now also in the Middle East), as well as the MC Stradale, which is the most driver focussed road car they make currently. We also brought an Audi R8 V10 Spyder along for the ride, as it’s a phenomenally capable sports car, and one that’s imminently usable on a daily basis – not to mention the fact that it redefines the term, ‘eye candy.’

We started with the Maserati’s, which are, technically speaking, drop dead gorgeous. The Trofeo race car was being driven by a young racing driver, Ramez Azzam, as Maserati considered it far too valuable to put in the hands of an Indian magazine crew. I wasn’t complaining, however, as there are far worse places on the planet than the cabin of the MC Stradale. Actually, if you turned that statement completely on its head it would be much more accurate – i.e. there are very few places on the planet that are nicer than the drivers’ seat of the MC Stradale.

The center console is trimmed in exquisite alcantara. The racing buckets hold you firmly in place, and allow you to focus unashamedly on the act of driving. The rear seats make way for a roll cage – a pretty blatant clue that this car was developed by Maserati Corse, their racing division. Having said that, I’m not such a fan of the racing harness, which could get a little cumbersome on the occasional trip down to the shops. Naturally, there’s carbon fibre aplenty, starting with the massive paddles for the 6-speed sequential manual gearbox, as well as on the dashboard and the center console. On the outside, you can spot the Stradale with its carbon fibre rear lip spoiler, wing mirrors, and door handles, which make simply opening the door an experience in itself. At the front, the beautifully sculpted front spoiler sets the Stradale apart from the rest of the range. At the rear, two fat exhaust pipes poke out from a grille section in the bumper that makes up part of the rear splitter. And, believe it or not, the race car looks even more serious, with its lowered, stout stance – sitting on massive racing slicks, mounted on 13-inch wide rear rims.



What a stunning duo these two make on the track. And it’s a look that’s heightened by the soundtrack. The Trofeo is deafening, while the Stradale is guttural and pure music to the ears. I would buy this car purely for the way it makes you feel – from the way it looks, to the sound it makes, to the aura it transmits when you’re seated in the racing bucket seat facing a beautiful three-spoke steering wheel with the legendary Trident emblem in its center.

The fact that the Stradale races from 0-100km/h in just 4.6 seconds, and stops just as fast courtesy of its ceramic discs is almost secondary – not to mention that it turns completely flat at virtually any speed. Push a button marked ‘Race,’ and the character of the car becomes even more serious – everything gets sharper, from the steering to the throttle, to even the magnificent exhaust note. I think this just became one of my favourite cars manufactured today!

So, I expected to be relatively well prepared when I stepped into the Aston Martin GT4 – especially since the Aston and Maser both sport a 4.7 litre V8. But, boy was I wrong. Manoeuvre your way into the Aston’s cabin by climbing over the scaffolding that forms a brace of the roll cage along the door, and you find yourself in the drivers’ seat of an extremely functional race car.



Yes, there’s alcantara and carbon fibre on the dashboard and center console, but it’s there purely to be lightweight and functional – not stylish. The racing bucket drops you so low in the car that your direct line-of-sight is the metallic instrument cluster rather than a clear view of the track ahead. But, there’s simply no time to ask for padding to prop me up, so I simply turn the ignition key, stand on the brake pedal, which requires quite a bit of force, and press the glass ‘Engine Start’ button to fire her up. The engine shrieks to life, and the vibration gives you some indication that this is going to be the drive of a lifetime.

The small, detachable race steering wheel feels extremely sharp in your hands, and there’s no delay whatsoever in your input and the response from the car. The engine note, and lack of any sound insulation, makes you feel like you’re going faster than you really are – which was a good thing in our case, since a rather stern, if not quite rude, gentleman running the show had laid down some very strict ground rules. You see, the circuit is preparing to host the penultimate round of the 2011 Formula 1 calendar, and the last thing they needed was to have an Aston Martin shaped hole in the Armco surrounding the track. Let’s just say, however, that it was very difficult to show restraint in the GT4. The naturally aspirated V8 revs with ease to over 7000rpm, the paddle shift 6-speed is lightning fast, and the racing slicks are incredibly confidence inspiring. This is a proper race car that’s a breeze to drive at speed – it’s the kind of car in which you could do a couple of stints of a 24-hour endurance race and still be itching to drive some more.

And the contrast between this and a road car couldn’t have been greater than when I stepped into the R8 Spyder thereafter. The R8 by itself is an incredible sports car that’s as much fun to push to the limit on a track as it is to drive on the highway every day. But, on a racetrack, alongside some serious racing machinery, the controls just feel rubbery and muted. Press the ‘Sport’ button though, and the V10 suddenly propels you with greater urgency. Plus, being a road car, you can actually see where’re you’re headed, so it’s easier to be precise on an unfamiliar track.

And, after a few laps, the comparison wares away, so you begin to enjoy the R8 for its own abilities. It’s supremely comfortable, has an incredible cabin, and still looks like something out of a Sci-Fi film – in the best way possible. Our test car was jet black, with chrome 10-spoke forged aluminium wheels, and a red canvas top – what a combination going down the road. Even in a place like Dubai, people stop and stare! And, let’s not forget the 5.2 litre V10 that produces 520 horsepower at 8000rpm, and propels the R8 Spyder to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds. Add to that the Quattro all-wheel drive system, and the R8 suddenly becomes a perfect track tool – fast, but also incredibly safe.

Speaking of track tools, the last car on the list was also the most focussed of them all – the Radical Yas Supersport SST. Now, my experience with two-seaters is that they’re a little harder to handle than single-seater race cars. A single-seater immediately becomes an extension of your body, while a two-seater takes a little getting used to. But, that’s not a luxury I had in this instance. At best, I would be able to get in a couple of laps, so I was keen to get going. In this case, I did need a little extra padding – a lot extra actually – and still I couldn’t get my left foot to reach the dead pedal. I could, however, see out and reach the three vital pedals that are required to control the Radical, so there was no more time to waste.

Flick the ignition switch, fuel pumps, and then fire up the engine. Now, it’s only a 1300cc four cylinder, but then there isn’t much car to propel either. So, we’re talking 0-100 acceleration times of under 3.5 seconds. Like any race car, it’s a little tricky to get going – you have to feed in power gradually as you get the clutch to bite. Once you’ve got first gear and you’re moving though, it’s a breeze. To shift up the gears, you simply pull the lever of the sequential manual gearbox towards you. To downshift, however, you also have to engage the clutch and push in the opposite direction. After the first time in each direction, you realise full well that this is a proper race car and you can’t pussy foot around – racing cars simply don’t like being driven slowly. The only way to get heat into the tires is to put some cornering forces through them, and the only way to get the aerodynamics to work is to give the wings some air pressure to play with. So, on the straight, we had a speed limit to maintain, but who said anything about the corners. And, oh my God, does the Radical have grip. On the first couple of laps, the car was a little skittish, as the racing slicks took time to heat up and develop some grip. It also takes a few laps to get a sense of the cars limits. But, after that, there’s no better track tool than an open-cockpit, purpose-built, track machine like this one. It just has so much grip and so much power that it obliterates the senses at first. Alas, just as I was beginning to get used to it, the red lights around the track came on signalling the end of our half-day session – I couldn’t even pretend to have missed them, since a modern track like Abu Dhabi has massive trackside LEDs every half-a-kilometer.

So, that was that. But my favourite car of the bunch was still the Aston Martin GT4 – the Radical is awesome in short bursts, but the Aston just makes you want to stay out on track forever. The Stradale, on the other hand, really is the perfect compromise between road car and track-tool. I would have mine with the option of a normal three-point seatbelt though, so you don’t have to deal with the harness every time you want to pop out for an ice cream. In that sense, the Audi creates the best of both worlds – yes, it does leave you wanting that little bit more on the track, but it’s still more than willing to entertain at the track while being supremely comfortable on the way home. In this instance, however, let’s just say that some conclusions are best left to fantasy.

My advice would be – this holiday season, hop onto a flight to Dubai, enjoy a desert safari, then the ski slope, and follow it up with a trip to Ferrari World on Yas Island. And top it off, of course, with a drive in the Aston at the Yas Marina circuit. And remember, the Trofeo’s can now be raced not too far from home either.

After all, if 5 years has taught us anything, it’s that speed rules – strictly on a racetrack of course!