18 October 2016
● Five of the twelve-strong team in the top 15 in their respective groups.
● First track action of the RMCGF 2016 as official practice begins on Day 2.
The atmosphere was electric as Team UAE drivers got their first taste of track action around the impressive Circuito Internazionale Napoli on Day 2 of the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016.
After a day spent tweaking and preparing their brand new karts and engines supplied by the organisation, all 360 assembled drivers from 60 countries were able to experience the fast, flowing Italian circuit for the first time during untimed practice in the morning. After a crucial break to make suitable adjustments and hone kart set-up, the drivers were unleashed onto the circuit for the first official timed practice in the afternoon on a hot, sunny day on the western coast of southern Italy.
Early indications are that the competition for Pole Position on Wednesday (Day 4) will be closer than ever with as many as 67 drivers per class (out of 72) covered by one second or less.
Although it is very early days, there were some stand-out performances from a number of the UAE-based drivers with five of the twelve-strong team finishing in the top 15 of their respective groups.
Rashid Al Dhaheri and Oscar McElroy were 12th and 15th respectively in the Micro MAX category, showcasing the strength of competition that exists in this class within the UAE Rotax MAX Challenge.
Ziggy Kermanshahchi performed similarly well, clocking the 12th fastest time of the day in Mini MAX while Edward Jones showed no signs of rustiness with the 15th fastest time in his DD2 group. The Indy Lights Champion 2016 is stepping back into competitive karting after an extended hiatus due to his massively successful race car career, which bodes well for the rest of the week.
Omani national, Abdullah Al Rawahi, fared even better as he finished 12th fastest in the same group, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Jones, and looked very assured as he identified areas for further improvement ahead of Day 3.
Fellow DD2 driver, Taymour Kermanshahchi, was a fraction of a second off the pace of his team mates but, with a full day and a half of practice still to go before official Qualifying, he is confident of significant progress.
DD2 Masters drivers Hussain Umid Ali (24th) and Anthony Hogg (30th) were separated by just 0.08s and will take confidence from the fact that they were with 1 second of the overall fastest lap.
The MAX category was closest of all the groups with an incredible 67 drivers within 1 second of each other. Pasqual Pook was 24th despite setting a lap time within 0.5s of the overall fastest time of the day while Giulio Peroni was 0.5s further back from Pook in 35th.
In the Junior MAX class Tehmur Chohan enjoyed a solid first day with the 17th quickest time in his group while Lucas Petersson was 29th on the timesheets despite being only 0.3s slower than Chohan - such are the fine performance margins at this elite level.
With all lap times for all categories now on public display, all participants are aware of the improvements which need to be made ahead of two more timed practice sessions on Day 3 (Tuesday). For the most part, Team UAE drivers will sleep soundly in the knowledge that another full day of practice will provide ample opportunity to make performance enhancements and give them a stable platform going into Qualifying on Day 4.
Guy Sheffield, Team UAE manager, summed up the day: "A solid day overall and great to see some of our drivers at the sharp end of proceedings at this early stage of the week. We won't get carried away - each of the drivers have a development plan according to their own individual circumstances and we have plenty of things to test before Qualifying starts. Rain is forecast for tomorrow at some point and the weather is uncertain for the rest of the week so we need to keep a calm, measured approach to the conditions and try to get as much data as possible ahead of Qualifying on Day 4."
The drivers representing Team UAE and Oman at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016 are:
Micro Max - Oscar McElroy (Top ranked UAE-based Micro MAX competitor)
Micro MAX - Rashid Al Dhaheri (Leading Micro MAX Emirati National)
Mini MAX - Ziggy Kermanshahchi (Top ranked UAE-based Mini MAX competitor)
Junior MAX - Tehmur Chohan (UAE Junior MAX Runner-Up)
Junior MAX - Lucas Petersson (Top ranked UAE-based Junior MAX competitor)
MAX - Pasqual Pook (UAE MAX Champion)
MAX - Giulio Peroni (UAE MAX Runner-Up)
DD2 - Abdullah Al Rawahi (Oman DD2 Champion)
DD2 - Taymour Kermanshahchi (Former UAE Junior MAX Champion)
DD2 - Edward Jones (Indy Lights Champion 2016)
DD2 Master - Hussain Umid Ali (UAE DD2 Master Champion)
DD2 Master - Anthony Hogg (UAE DD2 Master Runner-Up)
Useful links:
Al Ain Raceway Facebook Page for updates>>>
