SimplyAbuDhabi XLI

parts can be fabricated, and a huge workshop where the fleet of competition and training cars are maintained and repaired. Here a Ferrari appears to be having open-heart surgery, its engine removed for a rebuild in what can only be described as laboratory conditions. “Our engineers,” Carlin explains, “are European, fully factory-trained and qualified – there isn’t much we can’t do in-house, which saves our clients stress, time and money.” Also present is an immaculate silver ISO Rivolta, freshly restored from the ground up by the company’s magicians – a spectacular Italian classic that drips with charisma and class. “Every single nut and bolt on this car was removed and replaced,” Fincham says. “We sourced this car in Europe and wanted to prove that we can complete the entire restoration here within the UAE at a fraction of the cost”. “The job took 18 months and we’ve made a few subtle improvements to the engine, suspension and air-con. The only thing we didn’t do in-house was the brake calipers, which we had to send back to the Netherlands, however, we made our own discs and upgraded to a performance brake pad.” Next to it is another classic, a beautiful but almost derelict Maserati Mistral, which is about to undergo a similarly fastidious restoration. The quality of the workmanship here is breath-taking, no wonder clients keep turning to them for more and more. Adjacent to the workshop is a storeroom, with shelves and racking jam-packed with consumables and spares used to keep the team going during race campaigns or when carrying out maintenance between seasons. No matter which way you turn while touring Dragon HQ, you’re hit between the eyes by the sheer scale of the operation and the unfathomable investment that evidently went into it. The company has a standalone tyre fitting shop and an enormous warehouse where the tyres are stored, alongside racing Ferraris owned by clients from all over the Middle East and beyond. Even with all these facilities, Dragon Racing is running out of space and, on the morning of our visit, Price mentions that he’s just signed a deal to take over another unit. He has plans, too, to open a museum where his thousands of scale models can be displayed and enjoyed by visitors. To call him and his team ‘visionaries’ would seem like an understatement and their exacting clients obviously appreciate the incredible attention to detail that permeates every aspect of the business. Fincham is very proud of the Dragon Transport department: “We even decided to bring our own race transporters from Europe for our cars. In this region, there is no partner that offers what we require, so rather than accept the compromise we have sourced our own fleet of dedicated 40ft race transporters and trucks. This gives us maximum flexibility for the events we run outside of the UAE, at venues such as Jeddah, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain”. Simply Abu Dhabi | 203