Report: UAE RMC Round 5 at Yas Marina Circuit brings out the best in drivers

28 January 2020

Report: UAE RMC Round 5 at Yas Marina Circuit brings out the best in drivers

(27 January 2020 - Abu Dhabi, UAE) The iconic Yas Marina Circuit hosted the fifth round of the 2019-2020 UAE Rotax MAX Challenge Championship (UAE RMC), the Grand Prix venue dishing out a weekend of close racing and action in the region's premier and oldest karting championship run under the auspices of Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

In the Micro MAX class Benjamin Wade proved unbeatable - winning all the Heats, Pre-Final and Final but was made to graft hard all weekend long, chased hard by Seb Murray and Zain Elhommossany, with the likes Shivali Sinha stalking the pacesetters.

In the Final, Murray made a bad start while Wade put the hammer down to claim a comfortable win over second-placed Elhommossany and Sinha in third. Murray recovered to finish fourth.

Harry Hannam proved to be the class of the Mini-MAX category, the youngster topped every session and won every race with consummate ease. His father (Dan), doing the spanner-work for his son, was the feel-good story of the weekend.

Behind young Hannam was where the action was as several drivers battled for best-of-the-rest honours. The likes of Sofia Necchi, Lewis England, Krishna Shankar, Iko Segret, Bertie Gibbons and Nathan Porte.

There was nothing to separate the posse as they chased the fumes of Hannam, swapping places and providing some of the highlights of the weekend. In the Final, Segret and Porte crossed the line in second and third but a jump start would see both of them penalised, promoting England and Shankar onto the podium. Segret would be classified in fourth with Necchi fifth and Porte sixth.

With a perfect score Hannam extended his lead in the Championship and it will take a solid campaign by one of his rivals to dethrone him.

The Junior MAX category is known for being packed with action and controversy, but this weekend at Yas Marina we saw the best from the current crop with any among the top eight capable of snatching victory.

Kamal Agha and Anshul Gandhi set the bar with the former winning a Heat and the Pre-Final and the latter taking top honours in two Heats to set up an intriguing Final. Also up there at the sharp end were the likes of Georgie Zouein, Alex Renner, William Wade and Zack Scoular.

In the Final Gandhi rose to the occasion in a tense final few laps, winning by a second from Zouein in second and Renner third with Agha and Wade fourth and fifth respectively.

Kyle Kumaran was again in top form in the DD2 class, qualifying in pole position and winning all the Heats. But he stumbled in the Pre-Final where he finished seventh only to bounce back with an emphatic performance to take victory in the Final. The title is now his to lose.

Marcus Marker and Constantin Reisch chased gamely with the latter winning the Pre-Final and then finishing second in the Final, ahead of Marker in third, Nadim Khneisser fourth and Lukas Randerath rounding out the top five.

In DD2 Masters, Anthony Hogg delivered a near-perfect showing by winning all the races bar one Heat with reigning Italian Champion Fabio Cretti pushing him all the way to the line in the Final and Dario Rubio claiming the last podium spot.

The Senior MAX class was all about Khaled Saab and Theo Kekati, separated by eight points at the top of the Championship. The pair stole the Senior MAX show at Yas with Saab clearly a lad-on-a-mission as he powered to victories in all his Heats and the Pre-Final before claiming maximum points with a tough-to-get win over Kekati in a tense Final. The pair crossed the finish line separated by a quarter of a second.

Behind them Jacopo Mazza was third, followed by Abdelrahman Fraij in fourth and Daniel Alves fifth.

UAE Rotax MAX Challenge Championship Director Guy Sheffield summed up, "A massive thanks to Yas Marina Circuit who continue to set the bar for grassroots motorsport in the UAE. They put a huge effort into making this unique event happen so efficiently with support from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

"At the same time, it brought out the best in the Rotax MAX Challenge drivers, with excellent racing and the cream rising to the top. Penalties were at an all-time low which resulted in a great atmosphere. Great racing. Great support. A top weekend for all concerned," added Sheffield.