Learn to Drag Race in the Camaro SS at Yas Marina

If you have never heard of the Yas Marina Circuit, it is a cutting edge road course built for F1 racing in Abu Dhabi, UAE (United Arab Emirates), but today we are talking about “Yas” because the facility has teamed up with Chevrolet to introduce their Camaro Drag Race Experience.

Yas Marina has high performance driving experience programs for a handful of cars, including the Mercedes Benz AMG GTS, the Ferrari 458, the Aston Martin GT4, the Jaguar F-Type and an F1-style open wheel race car – all of which take place on the sprawling Middle Eastern road course. However, the new Camaro Drag Race program is the first to include an American muscle car and, fittingly, it is also the first to focus on going very fast in a straight line.

Camaro Drag Race Experience at Yas Marina
The 6th generation Chevrolet Camaro SS is powered by an LT1 V8 which sends 455 horsepower and 455lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a quick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission. This drivetrain propels the new Camaro SS down the quarter mile drag strip in the 12-second range with speeds climbing well over 100 miles per hour. Also see A Look at the Diecast 6th Gen Chevrolet Camaro Options.

Although this newest Camaro SS is more than just a straight line performer, there is no better venue in which to experience the all-out acceleration of the new Chevy muscle car, so to complete the American muscle car feel – Yas Marina and Chevrolet are offering their Camaro Drag Race Experience.

The problem includes professional instruction in the classroom and in the car, giving participants a lesson in getting down the quarter mile before handing over the keys. This begins with a technical briefing and safety discussion with Yas Drag Racing Centre’s chief instructor, which is followed by a training run down the track with one of the facility’s instructors behind the wheel while the participant rides shotgun. The instructor explains all of the ins and outs of drag racing in the new Camaro SS while taking each driver on a 12-second blast down the track.

Next, the roles change, with the instructor moving to the passenger’s side as the participant gets behind the wheel of the new Camaro SS. On this second quarter mile run, the instructor makes sure that the driver can safely get down the track and once he or she gets the thumbs-up from the person in charge – the rest of the runs are made without an instructor in the car. According to the official information, each participant gets to make a total of 8 runs in the new Camaro.

Best of all, this program costs just 650 UAW dollars, which translates to roughly $177 US dollars. The only downside, of course, is that Yas Marina is in Abu Dhabi, so participating in this program requires a trip to the Middle East. However, once you are there, you can make eight quarter mile runs in a new Camaro SS for less than $200.

For comparison, there is a company named Pure Speed, which offers their “Camaros Side by Side” program at a handful of drag strips all over the United States. That program offers similar instruction and you are guaranteed only three quarter mile runs, but this US-based program starts at $399. So, if you are headed to the UAE for any reason and you want to get some drag strip seat time in a new Camaro SS while there, you can do so for less than half of what a similar program will cost you here in the US for half of the track time.