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comes to what we do,” says Price. “There are plenty of other incredible tracks, obviously, but none that are surrounded by nearby airports, five-star hotels, the best restaurants and facilities. We’re based in a country that is accessible from practically anywhere with direct flights and the weather is utterly perfect for six months a year in the race season”. When Dragon started, he admits, the financial outlay was significant. “We had to immediately build a quality fleet of race and dedicated track cars,” he recalls, “and this took significant amounts of capital. Initially our competitors couldn’t believe we were bringing these cars to the UAE but, in no time at all, we took delivery of six custom-built McLaren and five Ferrari race cars, which removed any doubt about the seriousness of our intentions.” He says the business has evolved in different, sometimes unexpected directions, as more sectors have been added into the mix in response to customer demand. “Most have been retained but some have been discarded. In 2016, we were honoured to be invited by Mohammed Ben Sulayem (Now FIA President) to join the Formula 4 UAE Championship. In our first season, we won a number of podiums with the talented McLaren F1 Driver Oscar Piastri. This was ours and Oscars first venture in single seaters. After 4 successful seasons, the momentum continued, and we won the Team and Drivers Championship in 2018 with the current BMW GT3 Factory Driver Charles Weerts. With our passion being centred on GT Racing, we then decided to return back to what we do best. But it’s safe to say, we now have a well-established portfolio of products. We cover race car rentals (both ours and our clients), road car and race car preparation for track and race days, race tyre supply to various championships and track days, car storage, supercar servicing, classic car restoration and, most importantly, we are the appointed technical partner to Ferrari’s Club Challenge Middle East programmes. This was our proudest moment when appointed by Ferrari Middle East.” We’ll get into the Dragon Racing portfolio of offerings and its incredible headquarters later but, when it comes to future plans for the company, Price’s feet remain firmly on the ground. “Looking to the future is much easier now but, with the as yet unclear evolution of electric and hybrid cars, I don’t think that anyone in this business could safely form any strategy beyond the next five years. All bets are off but it’s such an exciting time to be running a motorsports company. “We complete our tenth year with a soundly established reputation for quality, a sustainable business model with a young and deeply experienced (in engineering and racing) CEO, Brad Fincham, heading up the company and ably supported by a long-standing team of loyal specialists in various fields, with unwavering assistance from Jake Carlin, who has been with us from the very beginning.” 194 | Simply Abu Dhabi