Meanwhile the most successful Australian driver in the second round of the short Middle East three round series was AGI Sport’s Nicolas Stati.

There were numerous post-race time penalties, particularly in Race 1 which changed the final order. Brit Kai Daryanani and Frenchman Reno Francot were ultimately classified first and second after Mumbai Falcon’s driver Rashid Al Dhaheri crossed the line first and was penalised 10s for a jumped start.

AGI’s Jimmy Piszcyk was classified sixth, in front of Stati. Their teammate Singapore’s Nooris Gafoor was 16th while the UK’s Emily Cotty, who has joined the team for the final two rounds was 21st after pitstop to replace a puncture.

The other Australian in the field was Seth Gilmore with Evans GP. He qualified 16 th was in a midfield battle when late in the race, front wing damage forced him to pit for a replacement. He returned to the race and finished 20th.

The grid for Race 2 had Francot second on the grid, Daryanani third, Piszcyk seventh, Stati eighth, Cotty 14th, Gafoor 16th and Gilmore 17th.

Piszcyk was quickly away and in the fight for third when he was squeezed for position and spun under the hotel section. He resumed in last place and only made up one place.

Dhaheri was the race comfortably ahead of Daryanani and Francot. Stati finished sixth, Gafoor placed 13th, one position ahead of Gilmore while Cotty was an early retirement with an electrical issue.

The third and final round is on next weekend, December 13-14, again at Yas Marina, with two races on Saturday in support of the Gulf 12 Hour.