Abu Dhabi - Part 2

by Sim Bradley
12 / 02 / 2010

Day two of our trip to the Persian Gulf was a bit more fitting for one of the glitziest cities in the world, as we were off to Yas Island where Flash had arranged a visit to the brand new Formula 1 circuit. After a hearty breakfast of turkey bacon and turkey sausages (there’s no pork in the UAE) and staying well clear of anything that Garrett ate the previous morning, we boarded the Tige and Epic from the British Marine Club (One of the few places in the world we didn’t obtain using cannons). The water was so glassy that the guys and Amber, who arrived in the early hours of that morning, got some riding in on the way to Yas. Our guide/pro-chase-boat-driver Rudi knew all the best spots for private untouched water and we were definitely getting spoilt with the perfect conditions. After everyone had taken a set we were soon pulling up to Yas Island, and to say the view was staggering is a drastic understatement.
 
The skyline is made up of a new gallery and restaurant shaped like a crab, the Yas Hotel with the two buildings joined by a curving shell of glass and coloured lights, and the 1.2km long ‘Ferrari World’ indoor theme park with a bright red rook complete with Ferrari logo the size of a basketball court! If like me you’re a fan of F1 then I understand if you hate me for the rest of my life, because after docking the boats in front of the hotel, we were greeted by Paul Quinn of the Yas Marina Circuit who got us all in a small minibus and went for a few laps of the circuit. This place is just unbelievable, the attention to detail is astounding and the facilities are immaculate. Perfect tarmac on every inch of the track and the most technology filled circuit of it’s kind with digital displays and sensors all over. After that we had a tour of the pits where teams were preparing for the GP2 Asia race the following weekend, and the guys from the Arden Team gave the crew a full rundown of the ins and outs of performance racing. Then we headed to Race Control and the Media Centre before heading to the 5-star Yas Hotel for the most glamorous buffet you could ever imagine.
 
After lunch we shot some interviews and portraits around the hotel while waiting for the sun to go down and the good light to appear. Once the time had come we rode in front of the amazing backdrop of the Yas Marina lined with 5-storey mega-yachts. Rathy and Nick rode doubles for a bit which was pretty amazing in itself, but when you put that backdrop behind them the whole situation is almost ridiculous. Then waited around even longer for the sun to set and the Yas Hotel to light up, in order to go for a photo I had been dreaming of shooting since seeing the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. You’ll have to wait for Alliance 2010.2 to see how that project went, but I can tell you it was a fun experience, even if Rathy did send a few waves into our boat in the process.
 
Thanks must go to Paul and everyone at the Yas Marina Circuit for taking the time to show us around their amazing facility. I’m a real geek when it comes to F1 and this was one of the best days at ‘work’ I’ve ever had.
 
Check back in a few days for the final instalment of the web article series, and another video tomorrow morning.