Defending champion Karim Al Azhari is expecting ferocious competition as he begins the defence of his TRD 86 Cup title on Thursday.

The German will be the man to beat at Yas Marina Circuit, after clinching the crown at the last race of the season in April.

Al Azhari was dominant behind the wheel, taking the chequered flag 10 times in 12 races across the six rounds of the inaugural series to finish top of the standings with 238 points.

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Hoping to dethrone him are 10 strong drivers, including the UAE’s Ahmed Al Melaihi, who will be looking to go one better after finishing runner-up.

With seven of last season’s drivers returning for another crack at the title, Al Azhari admits he will have to up his game if he wants to replicate his success. 

“I expect this season will be even harder. The good thing about the TRD 86 Cup is that it’s quite an easy car to adjust to,” said Al Azhari, who used to compete in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenger Middle East competition.

“That means it should be easy for the new drivers to adapt. 

“Plus most of the drivers from last season are back and that in itself means I have to work even hard to retain my title.”

He added: “I was really happy to lift the title as it was the first TRD 86 Cup. I really had to battle hard because it certainly wasn’t easy.

“For sure, the competition will be tough and we’ll see how the season pans out.”

Al Azhari has been training for the event by getting as much track time as possible in local events in Europe, and he believes that will give him an edge.

“Hopefully, that will help me for this season as I have tried to get as much training as possible whether it’s track days in a car or even in a go-kart,” he said.

“Hopefully, that will pay off during the season. I learnt a lot from last season and am sure the other drivers have as well, so I want to be much stronger this 
time.”

Behind the wheel of the Toyota 86 car, the drivers will be competing in two categories – Gold for advanced and Silver for novices – over two races in each round 
buildijng towards the season’s finale in April 2016.

Looking to fly the UAE flag high are five Emiratis – debutant Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Farhan Al Bastaki, Mohammed Abdulghaffar Hussein, Shihab Al Faheem and last year’s runner-up Al Melaihi.