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RACE TIME As if all the buildings occupied by Dragon Racing weren’t enough, the company also has three garages inside Dubai Autodrome’s pit lane, where more cars are stored, there are driver changing facilities and pre-prepared hospitality areas ready for catering to competing drivers. And during the racing season, the calendar is rather packed with events. At their busiest, there can be 75 people working for Dragon around the clock, with specialists drafted in to help operations remain seamless while the pressure is on. Each January there is a 24-hour endurance race held at the Autodrome, which draws teams from all over the world. Dragon Racing has secured a permanent position in this incredible competition, and has previously won this race five times in the 10 years it has entered, but what is it really like behind the scenes during such races? Fincham commented: “First and foremost we are a racing team, that’s what we are most known for and that’s why our remarkable trophy cabinet is full. We secured back- to-back GT4 Class wins in 2022 and 2023 at the Dubai 24hrs. To win one 24hr race once is tough enough – many drivers attempt their whole careers and never win, but to win it back-to-back in such a competitive field is an incredible achievement. Winning this race another 3 times with the Ferrari 458 GT3 and Lamborghini Super Trofeo shows that we really are the team to beat at this Middle East Blue Ribbon event!”. “It’s an absolute rush,” Carlin says. “To have everything come together, after months of planning and investment in time, money and resources, it’s something I can’t accurately describe with words. Many of us literally don’t sleep for a full 48-hours because, once the race is over, we’re straight into entertaining, celebrating and recounting the experiences we’ve all just shared. We’ve been doing this a long time and yes, it’s tiring both physically and, at times emotionally, and we’re blessed with understanding husbands and wives who also go through intense periods of activity with us. It’s a life I wouldn’t change and it radically changes the relationships we have with one another, makes them stronger than ever.” This is, after all, Dragon’s raison d’etre, and the season really begins in September as the incendiary summer temperatures begin to abate, not really coming to a close until the following April. “We’re never not working, though,” Carlin smiles. “Even during the summer there are owners who want to take their cars on track and these machines are now designed, engineered and built so well that they can be driven all year round, even in the heat and dust of a UAE summer.” Coming up, over the next few months, apart from the Dubai 24-hour race, there’s a full calendar of events at numerous venues, plenty of which are held at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, which also hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix each November. The races vary in length, with some lasting six, 12 or 24 hours, meaning there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to team management or preparation. What remains constant amidst all of the excitement of the competition season, however, is Dragon Racing’s unwavering approach to safety. No corners are cut, it’s as simple and effective as that. “We want our clients to have the time of their lives,” Carlin quips. “We want to see them again and we do everything to make sure they’re looked after. It’s a winning formula and we’ve worked tirelessly to earn our reputation as being the best in the business.” BACK TO SCHOOL Anyone who’s ever attained a racing licence knows what a disjointed sequence of events it often is, so Dragon Racing, again in response to the requests from its client base, has taken care of the entire thing from start-to-finish. “It doesn’t cost any more than when you jump through all the hoops yourself,” advises CEO, Brad Fincham, “but we remove all the pain points normally associated with getting your competition licence. We don’t like anything disjointed at Dragon Racing, so we’ve put together an 204 | Simply Abu Dhabi