And it was the perfect way to end his F4 career as the UAE’s No 1 driver, Rashid Al Dhaheri, won two pole positions and two chequered flags in the two F4 Formula Trophy races at his home track.
They were part of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend and, while the first race win was taken away from him after the race due to the steward penalising him for an overtaking move, he had owned the weekend racing lead-up to his F3Regional switch.
Al Dhaheri will not run in the last Formula Trophy race meeting, when the one-seaters come back to Yas Marina on December 13-14, as he is giving over his Prema team car to another driver to focus on getting ready for the next race.
Al Dhaheri, however, will leave as the defending champion by 27 points from his nearest competitor and would have been a foregone conclusion winner.
“I’m so happy for the guys and for all of you that have supported me over the years, that we could go back to my hometown circuit and Abu Dhabi where I started karting and still have this kind of results,” he said.
“I was the fastest car all weekend and I did it by running from pole to the line in the second race. It is fantastic to be greeted with an amazing following of supporters here in UAE and this is another reason to support my difficult move to Formula 3 Regional and the next stage of the ladder. I will be racing back in the Gulf coast in January and will have some good news in the pocket for all.”
Al Dhaheri had just two seasons racing in Italian F4 and Euro F4 competitions and will stay with Prema Racing Team, where he has been a member since his one-seater days.
They will be lending his car for next year’s Formula 3 Regional season which starts in April on F1 circuits in Europe.
The fifth season of Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) will run in 2025, the only FIA-approved formula 4/Formula 3 official F4/Formula 3 line-up on the FIA global schedule and one of the main points of entry for junior drivers on their journey to motorsport.