Formula 3000 racing experience - Yas Marina Circuit

Experiencing the adrenaline rush of racing in a Formula car!!

On en-tour to Houston from Hyderabad, happened to make a pit stop in UAE for Yas 3000 Experience in pretext of a business meeting.

Driving experience takes place once in a week at the Formula 1 circuit, Yas Island. I tried the experience during mid of September 2015.

Yas 3000 experience is priced at AED 1600~USD 435. A premium price tag, however learnt that track is actually making loss and state sponsoring events for promotion. Lets us see whether the experience is really worth all the Bing..

Events information available on Yas Marina website;

http://www.yasmarinacircuit.com/en/experiences/driving-experiences

If you are really not comfortable/ anxious of driving a single seater, can feel the thrill on Yas Radical SST 2-seater ride with a professional racer cruising you around the circuit at top speeds and sharp corners.

Finalized the itinerary, with a 1day stop in UAE before leaving to the US.. my whole planning boiled down to finishing business meeting and experience on circuit.

Event timings vary and if lucky you may find slots during night till 2130hrs during select dates. After going through reviews and one exceptionally written blog about experience, I booked for 7PM slot. Yes, and it turned out to be a good decision, as beating the heat in desert country is essential.

You need to meet requirements on various parameters to try the experience such as a valid driving license of any country, height [~187cm] & weight [max. 105kgs] restrictions, experience on manual gear car and so on.. I have barely made it through on height.

Landed in Dubai early morning, checked into hotel, did some shop and reached Yas Island, Abu Dhabi around 3PM. Finished buss meeting over a snack at Café Paul, Yas mall [french desert cafe worth a mention] and reached Circuit just around 7pm. Entered through Gate no. 7 and directly into Paddock garage, its madness allover..

Registration desk and training class over the first floor. Completed formalities including purchasing an insurance cover at an additional cost of AED 200~USD 72. Insurance cover is not compulsory, however considering the expensive nature of car it is advised to take insurance.

5 people have registered for 7pm slot, other slots may have up to 7-8 cars based on bookings. We tried the suits and of course they are one size fits all. Get your own comfortable racing shoes.

We were taken through safety briefing session for a 20-30 min. Instructor took us through the basics and educated on the rules, the outline of the briefing as follows:

> Overtaking is strictly prohibited

> A professional GP racer will lead the cars

> Race day ends if you spin the car for second time

> Race control continuously monitors the track and directs ground team in case if any rearrangement is required amid or incident occurs

> Cones along the track indicating braking and acceleration points

Track and car info:

Length of circuit: 5.55km. However, only half track [approx. 2.7 km] is open for driving experiences, either North (or) South track. North track has the longest straight and South is generally open for night experiences. As south track takes turn through iconic Yas Viceroy Hotel, it truly is an amazing spectacle driving through the icon hotel.

Yas 3000 technical specs:

Engine - 3.0L V6 developed by Cosworth racing

Power – 250 bhp

Fly-by-wire throttle control

Gearbox - FTRS 6 speed gearbox

Gear shift - Formula One style paddle shift gear change

Gear arrangement - Limited slip differential

Acceleration - 0-100 Kmph in 3.1 secs

Top speed - 275 Kmph

The drivers are put to test laps on a Renault Clio 3.0 V6 manual gear to get comfortable with the circuit & also test to expertise of drivers with manual gear, control and quickness on track. We are accompanied by other drivers of the next slot to save time for next batch. After a 3 lap trail understanding the turns and path, the instructor decided who drives from first car to last.

Considering my throughout life motor experience on manual cars, it was a cake walk and I grabbed the wheel behind Lead car, leading the rest of the pack.

We wore our gear and took positions behind the lead car driven by professional GP racer. F3000 has a start/stop button and is designed with a manual shift using clutch for 1st gear only and embedded with neutral button on steering wheel. Once the wheels rolls, forget about the clutch for rest of the track time. There is an on-board camera installed, post race video available on a storage device at a cost of AED 200.

Tightened the belts and shifted to first gear ready to roll. Few guys bumped off on the clutch and moved the cars on subsequent attempts. First lap was smooth with low speeds and understanding the car. Lead car intensified the experience from 2nd lap, it was a true roller coaster ride thereon with a bombarding G-force experience. During the 3rd lap we have driven through paddock as the instructor pushed a slow moving car to the back. No spins/ incidents occurred that day.

It was a 20 min deep impact-live the experience. Once it comes to a halt you will thrive for more and some may feel exhausted. Your $$ spent are all worth the experience and you may decide to consider racing down the circuit again whenever you get a chance to visit the island.

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