All credit to Alan Ewans, the Media Manager for the Qatar Masters!!
GOLFERS GET HIGH SPEED DOHA DRIVING LESSON
- Stenson, Casey, Di Marco, Jimenez and Appleby Not Always Straight Down The Middle -
Pros including former winner Henrik Stenson swapped their clubs for a drive of a different kind during the build-up to the $2.2 million Commercialbank Qatar Masters, staged at the Doha Golf Club in January.
The Swede teamed up with fellow star names Chris DiMarco, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stuart Appleby and Abu Dhabi Golf Championship winner Paul Casey to take part in a special BMW driver training day at Doha’s Losail International Circuit.
And while Stenson could be excused for being a little tentative behind the wheel following a road accident in the UAE, Casey more than made up for it with an aggressive stint on the track in a number of cars provided by Alfardan Automobiles, suppliers of BMW, the tournament’s official car.
“I could do this all day,” beamed self-confessed petrol head Casey, after an impressive piece of drifting in a BMW 5 Series. “The last time I did something like this was with Nigel Mansell and Andy Priaulx at Brands Hatch – I’ve even driven a Formula BMW up the drive at Wentworth, but don’t tell anyone!”
Although Casey showed his fellow pros a clean pair of tyres over the Losail Circuit, he failed to make the cut in the tournament itself – won by South Africa’s Retief Goosen who opted to stay on the driving range while the others burned rubber. With the cheque for $366,660 and the trophy now in his cabinet, it was probably a sensible manoeuvre…
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(L to R) Stuart Appleby, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Chris DiMarco, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson get ready to burn some rubber at Doha’s Losail International Circuit
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Paul Casey shows he’s a mean driver both on and off the golf course.
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Casey and Jimenez get a last-minute briefing from their driving instructor
