14 November 2017
Jamie Day returned to UAE with the second place Rotax Mini MAX trophy after an impressive week at the 2017 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, at the Kartdromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
The Dubai schoolboy was the best placed of the eleven Team UAE drivers selected to take part in one of karting's most prestigious and longest running events. His result was also the best by a UAE driver since Sean Babington won the DD2 Grand Finals in 2014.
All week Day was among the pace setters, in the field packed with 36 Mini MAX champions from around the globe. In the Final race, he was made to fight hard as he started from second place on the grid but was swamped early on in the race.
He did well to fight his way back to the front, but in the end simply ran out of laps to reel in race winner, French champion, Marcus Armand and had to settle for second, making his mark in the best way possible.
It was a champion effort by the 12 year old, who said afterwards, "I started off by dropping down to sixth and had to fight back up the order. I started pushing and I managed to catch up to the leader but there was not enough time left in the race to overtake him."
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He added, "It has been a good week. The competition was tough with many top drivers, but we were among the fastest as soon as we started driving including practice and heats. I did my best and I am happy with that. I would like to thank PGH Tuning, LV Tuning and my Mom and Dad.
Jamie's father, Kevin Day, also qualified for the Grand Finals and contested the DD2 Masters class. However, unlike his son, Kevin did not progress to the Final but has the pleasure of watching his son in action on Saturday. The pair were the only father and son combination at this year's Finals.
Day senior summed up, " It was a very good event, well organised and some of the best drivers in the world on display. I drove hard but in the end did not make it into the DD2 Masters final. But I did get to see Jamie in the Mini MAX Final and am very proud of his performance."
"He works hard at his karting, is driving and racing a lot with good people around him. His showing in the Grand Finals is reward for the graft and commitment that he puts into his racing. Very happy and very proud," added Day.
Team UAE manager Guy Sheffield commented, "Jamie showed why he is UAE champion and also allowed us to gauge the level of competition relative to the UAE Rotax MAX Championship. With Jamie second and Theo Kekati finishing fourth in the Mini MAX final it is encouraging to see that the level of junior karting in the UAE is of the highest order and in a very good place. Our Mini MAX youngsters did Team UAE proud."
Background
Rotax MAX Challenge 2017 Grand Finals
Eleven drivers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are based in the seaside town of Portimao, in Portugal, for the Rotax MAX Grand Finals which takes place at the Kartdromo Inetrnacional do Algarve from 5 to 11 November 2017.
The team consists of the UAE's best Rotax MAX drivers from the 2016/2017 season, among them several champions, who will come up against the best drivers in the world in this series of karting.
The group join 360 drivers, from 60 nations, competing in this prestigious karting event to determine who will be this year's Rotax MAX world champions.
Team UAE consists of Emirati racer Amna Al Qubaisi in the MAX category, father and son Kevin and Jamie Day in the DD2 Masters and Mini MAX respectively, brothers Jakob and Lachlan Robinson in DD2 and Junior MAX, DD2 Masters Tony Hogg and Kyle Blockley, Lucas Petersson in DD2, Liam Crystal in Junior MAX, Theo Kekati in Mini MAX and Keanu Al Azhari, son of multiple UAE racing champion Karim Al Azhari, in the Micro MAX class.
Travelling with Team UAE is Omani DD2 driver Abdullah Al Rawahi as well as Bahraini champion Khaled Al Saei in the MAX Class.
The first Rotax MAX Grand Finals were held in 2000 in Puerto Rico and since then has become a regular fixture on the international karting calendar. Dubai based Sean Babington won the DD2 title in 2014 as part of Team UAE.
Useful links:
Official UAE Rotax Max Challenge Facebook Page for updates>>>
Al Ain Raceway Facebook Page>>>
Al Ain Raceway Instagram Page>>>
