The United Arab Emirates is a constitutional federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The federation was formally established on 2 December 1971. It occupies an area of 83,000 sq km along the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

It is surrounded by Qatar to the west, Saudi Arabia to the south and west, and Oman to the north and east. Four-fifths of the UAE is desert, yet it is a country of contrasting landscapes, with sand dunes, oases, mountains and plains.

The weather is hot and dry, with temperatures likely to be around 40C and the chance of rain almost nil. The Dubai Autodrome was completed earlier this year; the LG Super Racing Weekend will be the first major international motorsports event held there.

Following the working week in the UAE, where Friday is the day of rest, the race 'weekend' will run from Wednesday to Friday, with short shakedown sessions for the FIA GT cars on the Tuesday and for the FIA ETCC cars on the Wednesday. With the circuit new to all drivers, it should be a very interesting weekend.

Alone among the main LG Super Racing Weekend series, the 2004 FIA GT Championship will not come to an end in Dubai. The series continues to Zhuhai, in China, for the eleventh round, which will take place on November 14th. The previous round, in Oschersleben, saw BMS Scuderia Italia duo Luca Cappellari and Fabrizio Gollin claim the 2004 title, to add to the GT Teams' title that their team secured in Imola.

The event started yesterday, with private testing for the Renault V6 cars and a thirty-minute shakedown session for the FIA GT cars.

Dubai will be the first 'overseas' race for the FIA GT Championship since late 1999. In 1997 and 1998, the Championship visited the United States of America and Japan, while in 1999, the first Zhuhai round took place at the end of the season. Since then, however, the Championship has concentrated on Europe. With nine rounds completed, the last two 500km races will take place in the United Arab Emirates and China.

The Dubai round should see a fascinating battle between the Chrysler Viper, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche and Saleen cars. With few of the drivers having prior experience of the brand-new circuit, the teams should be on an equal footing, and the race promises to be fascinating.

Three cars racing in Dubai will be carrying the 'supermaximum' penalty weight, awarded to cars which manage to win while carrying the maximum penalty weight. This means that the Championship-winning nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello will be on 150kg, while both the nr 50 and nr 99 Porsche 996 GT3-RS cars will be carrying 75kg.

However, Oschersleben's results saw a number of cars lose their penalty weight, with the nr 1 BMS car down to 5 kg, the nr 11 GPC Ferrari down to 15kg and the nr 5 Vitaphone Saleen down to 30kg. The nr 8 RML Saleen will carry penalty weight for the first time, with 30 kg, while the nr 17 car goes up to 50kg.

Neither Lamborghini will have weight, while the nr 33 and 34 Maserati cars will be on 100kg and 40kg respectively. New or returning cars carry a minimum of 60 kg in GT and 30 kg in N-GT, added to any previous weight they might have had.

Two weeks after helping their team, BMS Scuderia Italia, to claim its second successive FIA GT Teams Championship, Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari claimed their own title, the GT Drivers' Championship, having led the classification throughout the season. "I am lost for words," a delighted Gollin said afterwards.

Outgoing Champion Matteo Bobbi and his Swiss team-mate Gabriele Gardel are determined to keep second place in the classification. "Dubai will be a new challenge for the teams and the drivers, and an excellent opportunity to meet new people. I am really looking forward to the races in Dubai and China," Bobbi said.

Dubai will also see the return of Bobbi's 2003 team-mate and fellow Champion, Thomas Biagi. The Italian will be driving the nr 3 Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello. "The whole team is delighted to have Thomas back," Marco Streparava explained. "We have remained in close contact throughout the year."

Monaco-based team JMB Racing is involved in a close battle for second place in the GT Teams classification with Italian team GPC Giesse Squadra Corse. The teams are remarkably even, both racing two Ferrari 575 M Maranello cars, and with two former Formula One drivers on their team: Karl Wendlinger and Tarso Marques for JMB Racing; Emanuele Naspetti and Gianni Morbidelli for GPC Giesse.

Eight points separate them, with a total of 36 points remaining to be claimed for the two-car teams during the two races. GPC will see a change of line-up for Dubai, with Babini sharing one car with Morbidelli and Peter driving with Naspetti.

JMB Racing's Bert Longin won the Belcar championship for the third time at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, in a GLPK Chrysler Viper he shares with Anthony Kumpen. Longin will be back in action in Dubai, sharing the nr 18 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC with Sergei Zlobin and Chris Buncombe.

They finished eighth in GT at Oschersleben, with Zlobin and Buncombe claiming their first-ever GT point. "I am looking forward to driving on a circuit that hardly any of the drivers know; it is quite a challenge. I also think it is fantastic that the FIA GT is going outside the European boundaries once more," Longin explained.

The two DAMS Lamborghini Murcielago cars made definite progress during the Oschersleben round of the FIA GT Championship, their second race of the season. The nr 24 car, driven by Piccini and Deletraz, put in a fine performance and was lying sixth and closing when a driveshaft failure took the car out of the race.

The nr 26 car of Gabbiani and Ortiz finished in 18th position, having lost time due to a puncture. Neither car will carry penalty weight in Dubai.

The two Maserati MC 12 cars, entered by AF Corse, will be competing in their third non-Championship race in Dubai. Having finished second in Imola, the nr 33 car, driven by Mika Salo of Finland and Andrea Bertolini of Italy, went one better in Oschersleben, taking the chequered flag to win the race, a fitting celebration for Maserati's 90th anniversary.

They will have to carry the maximum penalty weight of 100 kg in Dubai, while the nr 34 MC 12 of Herbert and De Simone will only have 40 kg, after finishing eighth in Oschersleben, following problems with a rear wheel.