DW Racing’s Oscar Joyce ends Radical World Finals as Vice-World Champion

DW Racing took Oscar Joyce to four podium finishes that earned him Vice-World Champion status at the end of the 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals, held at Abu Dhabi’s ultra-modern Yas Marina Circuit (7-10 November).

Wolverhampton’s Andy Lowe also achieved a desired top ten result in the World Finals Race, while Doctor David Evans and Captain Saeed Al-Mouri both retired with terminal damage in a dramatic first-corner shunt, preventing them from capitalising on the significant progress made in all preceding sessions.

Darren Winter: “The 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit has been spectacular and a huge success for all concerned. We went into the event without any preconceived or overrated expectations, just wanting to enjoy the experience, support Radical Sportscars and show what DW Racing can do. The team worked as hard as ever and all four drivers took a lot of enjoyment from participating in the World Finals.

“David Evans’ crash in the World Finals Race was a real shame because he was buzzing about being back in a racing car after eight years away, and we’re all glad he will make a full recovery from the fractured ribs and bruising he sustained in the impact. Once again, it’s a testament to the strength of Radical’s cars, and the incident was handled with the utmost care and professionalism.”

Winter continued: “Oscar Joyce drove superbly, learning a brand new car at a circuit he has never visited before to achieve four podium finishes and end the week as Vice-Champion. It’s a result we’re really proud of and it’s a great reward for the team’s efforts. Many of those in the Platinum class have done heaps of testing or come with plenty of race experience at Yas Marina, so you can’t underestimate what he has achieved.

“His success is also a testament to Radical’s ladder, as the Radical SR1 taught him how to drive an aero sports-prototype, and the SR3 XXR and SR10 XXR both presented completely different challenges. It’s great that Oscar has showcased how effective and rewarding Radical’s development ladder can be.”

Oscar Joyce

DW Racing’s Oscar Joyce pulled off four impeccable podium performances to end the 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit (7-10 November) as Vice-World Champion.

The 19-year-old from Richmond, London took a hattrick of runner-up finishes and a third place result on his very first outing in a Radical SR10 XXR and his maiden visit to the home of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, finishing P2 in the definitive World Championship.

In fact, Joyce was quick straight out of the blocks in qualifying, and the 1m55.726s that guaranteed him third on the Heat Race 1 starting grid was a full two seconds faster than his best lap in testing.

However, caught behind a stalled car at pit exit, “professional doodler” Joyce was unable to take up his position on row two of the grid and instead started the first heat from pit lane.

He faced a steep climb from the very back of the 32-strong multi-class field but, fired up, laid down fastest sectors while navigating the tail-ending Radical SR3s from the Pro1500 and Pro1340 classes.

The superior performance of his 450bhp SR10 XXR enabled him to clear slower cars on the straights with ease, although the lighter, nimbler SR3s proved a little more problematic in the tighter sections of Yas Marina’s 3.45-mile lap.

Deciding caution was the better part of valour, Joyce was patient and calculated when overtaking, and his pace was such that he was the second-placed Platinum class contender in sixth overall when the Safety Car intervened on lap seven.

The restart presented an opportunity to clear the leading Pro1500 entries in quick time and Joyce was second on the road, just 3.6 seconds adrift of race winner Alim Geshev at the end of a supreme race.

It was golden hour when the 2024 Radical World Finalists regrouped for Heat Race 2, Yas Marina’s floodlights just starting to dominate as the sun set over Abu Dhabi.

Joyce looked racy as the field swarmed on Turn 1 but had to settle in behind the polesitting #77 TT Racing entry of United Arab Emirates-based Geshev.

Heavily worn tyres prevented him from mounting a meaningful attack for the victory and he was instead forced to play a rearguard action with the #24 car of the late-charging Gregg Gorski looming ever larger in his rear-view mirrors.

The pressure told and a slight mistake left Joyce a little vulnerable, although clean and efficient traffic management kept him ahead, and he received the chequered flag still in the runner-up position with a slender half-a-second margin over his pursuer.

Richmond, London-based Joyce then started Sunday’s 45-minute endurance race from third, fresh Hankooks enabling him to get the better of Heat Race 2 sparring partner Gorski off the line and pull away by the tune of eight seconds.

However, problems restarting the #95 SR10 XXR in the regulation 45-second pit stop negated his good work, as the ten-second delay cost him track position to American opponent Gorski.

Nevertheless, the points Joyce accumulated for his three podiums in the heats also put him third on the grid for the ‘winner-takes-all’ World Finals Race, giving him every chance of becoming World Champion.

A first-corner shunt brought out the red flags, the grid was reset and Joyce aced the second start, immediately surpassing the Pro1500 car of RAW Motorsport’s Ian Aguilera.

Thereafter, a drive-through penalty for the chasing Platinum class contender Gorski freed him up to chase race leader Geshev.

The top two traded purple sectors during the early laps, but Geshev eventually put the hammer down in response to Joyce, who brought the #95 DW Racing SR10 XXR home in second overall to become Vice-World Champion, backing up his runner-up finish in the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK SR3 Pro Championship.

Reflecting on results that belie his lack of experience with a Radical SR10 XXR and Yas Marina Circuit, Joyce said: “There has been a lot of learning over the course of World Finals week, but it’s really positive to see that I can jump into a car I’m unfamiliar with at a track I’ve never visited and achieve big results. We chipped away in each session and were steadily closing in on Alim (Geshev) towards the end of the weekend, but fair play to him for being so incredibly consistent.

“DW Racing has done a great job, everybody has been super supportive and to come away from the 2024 Radical World Finals as Vice-World Champion is a great way to round out a successful season. Next year, I hope to go one place higher in both the World Finals and back home in the Radical Cup UK!”  

Andy Lowe

Wolverhampton’s Andy Lowe achieved a desired top ten result in the 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit (7-10 November).

Lowe was underwhelmed after qualifying 16th overall and 13th in the Pro1500 class, but the Wolverhampton, England driver would end up starting Heat Race 1 from pit lane, stuck behind a stalled car on the approach to Yas Marina’s iconic pit exit tunnel.

Determined but conscious of tyre wear, Lowe steadily carved his way through the field, his favoured overtaking places being the heavier braking zones for the likes of Turns 1 and 5.

The DW Racing driver eventually went beyond his original starting position, finishing 15th overall and 12th in class, but the fact he had more pace than the next eight cars on the road inspired confidence and boded well for the remaining heats.

In race two, Lowe made gains away from the start to be eighth overall and fifth in Pro1500 when the Safety Car neutralised the field at the end of lap one.

He found himself at the head of a three-car battle with the #3 Valour Racing of Chris Preen and the #91 Dream Racing of Sebastian Murray, but he eventually opened the door to both of his pursuers by going too late on the brakes into the Turn 5 hairpin.

Lowe lined-up 13th on the Heat Race 3 grid on Sunday (10 November) morning but was 11th overall and eighth in class when the Safety Car once again neutralised proceedings at the completion of lap one.

Preen got the jump on Lowe shortly after the restart, but he was only a short distance from a simmering five-way fight for P4 in class until a slight delay in the compulsory pit stop resulted in a loss of track position, resigning him to ninth in the definitive Pro1500 classification.

Lowe’s cumulative performances in the heats put him 15th on the World Finals Race grid but the Wolverhampton driver quickly engaged Valour’s Preen, as well as GulfSport Racing’s Suellio Almeida and Fujinami in a battle for that coveted top ten finish.

Spurred on, Lowe began registering personal best lap times in the 1m59s but was ultimately elevated to tenth overall as rivals faltered, the race ending under the Safety Car and preventing him from progressing even further.

“I’ve had a mega time racing in the United Arab Emirates, having followed the opening round of the Gulf Radical Cup at Dubai Autodrome with the Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit,” said Lowe. “The car setup and my driving has improved massively with the support of DW Racing and driver coach, Tom Gladdis.

“I was disappointed with my performances in Dubai but progressed quickly in Abu Dhabi. I felt great in the World Finals Race; I was in the groove, trying everything to achieve my target lap time and catch the battling cars ahead of me, applying pressure to force them into mistakes. I could have finished higher up the order if the race hadn’t finished under the Safety Car, but I’m really happy to have achieved my objective of finishing in the top ten overall. I’m also thrilled with my car’s performance and the work DW Racing has done, as it puts me on a strong footing for the next round of the Gulf Radical Cup.”

David Evans

Racing returnee Doctor David Evans took significant strides during the build-up to the 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals (7-10 November), but a dramatic first-corner crash prevented him from capitalising on his restored pace and confidence in the championship finale at Yas Marina Circuit.

An alternator issue curtailed qualifying, but the Berkshire, England-domiciled driver pulled himself up the leaderboard from 27th to 19th over the course of the first 20-minute heat on Saturday (9 November).

Further progress was made during the early stages of Heat Race 2, Evans picking off three cars on the opening tour of the 3.45-mile Yas Marina Circuit to breach the top 20 overall, but he ultimately fell back to his starting position of 23rd after enjoying protracted battles with multiple SR3s from the Pro1500 division.

In Sunday’s (10 November) 45-minute enduro, Evans was one of the biggest movers on the first tour of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit, rising as high as 21st but yo-yoing up and down the leaderboard while once again trading places with SR3s.

The race settled down after the compulsory stops and, noticeably more confident on the brakes, Evans set personal best lap times and was unchallenged in 21st, which he maintained after receiving a 20-second penalty for boxing outside of the regulation pit window due to a radio communications fault.

The 65-year-old was clearly on an upward trajectory and he had a mouth-watering shot at a big result in the headlining Radical World Finals Race, his combined results in the three heats putting him seventh on the overall starting grid.

However, he was in the thick of a dramatic multi-car crash at Turn 1, which also claimed DW Racing teammate Saeed Al-Mouri and immediately brought out the red flags.

Evans was carefully extracted from his stricken SR10 and taken to Yas Marina Circuit’s on-site medical centre for precautionary checks, before being transferred to the local Al Mafraq Hospital for x-rays, a CT scan and monitoring.

Tests revealed he sustained two fractured ribs and bruising, from which he will make a full recovery.

Saeed Al-Mouri

For Captain Saeed Al-Mouri, the 2024 Kinetic7 Radical World Finals at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi (7-10 November) was blighted by misfortune, but the Saudi Arabian driver progressed well on his long-awaited return to competition and enjoyed the experience.

Al-Mouri started the first Heat from pit lane after a rival car stalled at the exit, but the Riyadh-domiciled driver strode up the leaderboard and bettered his original grid position, finishing as the fourth-placed Platinum class contender in 16th overall.

Unfortunately, the Hankook Saudi Arabia-backed racer retired from the remaining races, as his Radical SR8 developed gearbox issues in heats two and three, and he was then an innocent victim of a hefty first-corner crash in the headlining World Finals Race.

“I’m happy, to be honest,” said Al-Mouri. “I knew I wouldn’t be very fast in the Radical World Finals because I hadn’t driven an SR8 in ten years, but I enjoyed the experience and progressed a lot with great support and coaching from DW Racing. I gained a good amount of lap time and qualified inside the top ten overall for the headlining World Finals Race with old machinery, so there’s a lot to be happy about.

“I delivered good results for Hankook Saudi Arabia, which I’ve seen develop and grow since the beginning of our partnership 12 years ago. I see the work Hankook puts in and I hope to see its tyres in more championships around the world.”