UAE Rotax MAX Challenge Round 2

15 November 2016

UAE Rotax MAX Challenge Round 2 - Race Report

● Al Azhari takes maiden win in Micro MAX

● Ziggy Kermanshahchi edges thrilling Mini MAX Final

● Petersson, Pook and Blockley among the day's winners

Round 2 of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge 2016-17 was held at the popular Al Forsan International Sports Resort in Abu Dhabi on Friday 11^th November, the first of a two-day 'double-header' weekend. The twisting, undulating circuit layout is a favourite with the drivers and provided a unique challenge for the UAE's top racers in the picturesque setting of the impressive leisure complex situated at the heart of Khalifa City.

With the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016 taking place in Italy during October, the UAE's top racers had enjoyed an unusually long break since Round 1 some 5 weeks earlier, and all were itching to get back into the action and give their various championship campaigns some impetus.

With large run-off areas providing ample opportunity to gain time by running off-track in key areas, the officials had their work cut out in the early stages and many drivers were penalised for exceeding circuit limits in Timed Qualifying. However, as the racing progressed, spectators were treated to some intense wheel-to-wheel action which would leave appetites whetted for Round 3 the following day.

Micro MAX

Young Emirati, Rashid Al Dhaheri, looked set to complete a clean sweep of wins in the Final after dominating every other session. After setting Pole Position in Qualifying, he led every lap of the Heat race and the Pre-Final and carried that form into the Final, opening up a 3 second lead over the chasing pack which was led by the impressive Keanu Al Azhari. But disaster struck for Al Dhaheri on Lap 8 of 10 as he was held up behind a back-marker in a difficult part of the track and lost all of that time advantage. Al Azhari seized the opportunity and the race lead on Lap 9 as Al Dhaheri tried to recover momentum and would hold a narrow advantage all the way to the chequered flag as Al Dhaheri was torn between attacking Al Azhari and defending against the likes of Diaraf Keinde, Finn Farrell-Morton, Georgie Zouein, Fahad Al Khaled and Harry Hannam.

It was a fantastic drive from Al Azhari to keep Al Dhaheri in contention in the early stages and he showed great composure in the final lap to maintain his advantage and seal his maiden victory, undoubtedly the first of many.

Al Dhaheri may have been disappointed with 2^nd after such a strong performance but his smiles on the podium belied any such suspicion. Keinde crossed the line in 3^rd with Farrell-Morton 4^th but both would suffer post-race penalties for Start Line infringements which would drop them back to 4^th and 6^th respectively. It was a difficult day for Georgie Zouein who suffered numerous setbacks throughout despite showing strong pace. Starting from the back in the Final, he drove well to finish 5^th with the fastest lap of the day but a 10 second penalty for a displaced front bumper would drop him all the way back to 9^th.

In amongst the front runners, Kuwaiti driver Fahad Al Khaled was promoted to 3^rd place and the final podium spot with Harry Hannam 5^th in the final classification. William Wade took the best novice award.

Mini MAX

Energy Dubai driver Jamie Day laid down the gauntlet in Qualifying for the Mini MAX category. His blistering lap of 60.761s was almost half a second clear of anyone else - unusual in this class which regularly sees the top 10 separated by less. Ziggy Kermanshahchi and Theo Kekati were evenly matched behind Day with Kermanshahchi edging Kekati by 0.05s.

Day did not look to have the same massive pace advantage in the race, though, as the Heat was hotly contested between the Qualifying top three along with Nadim Khneisser. Day and Kermanshahchi both took turns at the front and it was Day who led with one lap to go but Kekati had bided his time well, taking 2^nd from Kermanshahchi on the penultimate lap and snatching the lead from Day on the last lap. Kermanshahchi and Khneisser were well placed to frustrate Day and pass him before the line.

The start of the Pre-Final was a bit untidy as Day committed a tramline infringement while Khneisser was unable to figure in the results after a first corner incident took him out of the race. Kermanshahchi took the lead from Kekati on Lap 1 but Day passed both Kekati and Kermanshahchi on Lap 2 to take over at the front. Kekati and Kermanshahchi enjoyed a good scrap behind Day with Kekati finishing 2^nd but both would be promoted ahead of Day after a 3 second penalty was applied for the error at the start. Khaled Saab did well to hold off Jakub Fitzsimmons and Kamal Agha for 4^th.

The Final saw the closest finish of the day with 5 karts separated by just 0.8 second. The usual suspects were all involved from the outset with Kekati, Kermanshahchi and Day being joined by Fitzsimmons and Khneisser towards the end of the race. This time it would be Kekati and Day exchanging pleasantries and places behind Kermanshahchi who moved into the lead on Lap 2 while Khneisser scythed through the field from the back in the early stages.

Kamal Agha was driving brilliantly despite upsetting his mum at the start by missing the tramlines and incurring a 10 second penalty. His progress was slowed slightly by the flying Nadim Khneisser who moved passed him into 6^th on Lap 6. Khneisser continued his charge past Khaled Saab on Lap 8 and closed on Fitzsimmons who was right in the mix for the podium spots in 4^th. Kermanshahchi, meanwhile, was on defence mode as the final lap ensued. Behind him, Kekati lost 2^nd place to Day while Fitzsimmons and Khneisser made it a 5-kart battle for the podium. Kermanshahchi positioned his kart perfectly around the final corner to take a valuable victory under extreme pressure while Day managed to keep his nose marginally in front of Kekati to retain 2^nd by just 0.07 second. Fitzsimmons and Khneisser completed storming drives to 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Junior MAX

Denis Bahar impressed in Junior MAX Qualifying, setting the fastest time ahead of ex-teammate Lucas Petersson and local hero Hamda Al Qubaisi by the slenderest of margins. Bahar, though, had a horror start in the Heat race and lost about 10 positions on the opening lap, battling back through to 7^th by the close with the fastest lap of the race. At the front, Petersson led from start to finish in relatively untroubled fashion while Lachlan Robinson led home Al Qubaisi, Eliot Jones, Liam Crystal and Connor Donovan in tight formation, the lap times almost identical.

More dominance followed from Petersson in the Pre-Final with another lights-to-flag win while Robinson was made to work hard for his eventual 2^nd place by Crystal and Donovan in particular who would cross the line in 4^th and 3^rd respectively. Both Crystal and Al Qubaisi (7^th) received 10 s penalties for front bumper displacement which would drop them further down the order. A non-finish for Round 1 winner Tai Zulberti dented his podium chances - he was running 2^nd when his race ended prematurely - while Denis Bahar continued his progress with a 5^th place finish.

Petersson sealed maximum points for the day in impressive fashion with yet another victory in the Final although this was a lot closer than his earlier triumphs. Robinson kept him honest throughout the race while being hounded by Bahar who moved ahead of Donovan on the opening lap. The pressure finally paid off for Bahar on the penultimate lap as he found a way past Robinson into 2^nd but he was unable to do anything about Petersson and the two remained line astern at the chequered flag.

It was all going off behind this pairing on the final lap as Zulberti, who enjoyed a monstrous few opening laps to progress to 4^th, successfully made a move stick on Robinson for the final podium place. Unfortunately for Robinson, Donovan and Crystal were also both lying in wait and stole through to finish 4^th and 5^th with Robinson left scratching his head as to how he did not finish higher than 6^th.

MAX

Friday saw an old rivalry re-ignited in the MAX category as Taymour Kermanshahchi made the switch from DD2 after his impressive showing at Round 1 to join his fellow Grand Finals qualifier, Pasqual Pook, and the rest of the MAX brigade.

First blood went to Pook in Qualifying ahead of Kermanshahchi with home-town star Amna Al Qubaisi emulating her sister's impressive qualifying performance in 3^rd ahead of perennial front-runners Jan Richtermeier and Jakob Robinson. The Heat race saw a fascinating duel between Pook and Kermanshahchi at the head of the field while Al Qubaisi and Robinson squabbled over 3^rd place after Richtermeier's premature retirement on Lap 6. Despite setting the fastest lap, Kermanshahchi was unable to make a move stick and Pook crossed the line just 0.2 second in front. Behind them, Al Qubaisi sneaked ahead of Robinson with a little over a lap to go and maintained her advantage to the flag. Dario Rubio was the top MAX Master driver in 5^th position overall.

The Pre-Final saw the results reversed as Kermanshahchi surprised Pook on Lap 4 to take the race lead which he would not relinquish to the flag. Pook pushed to the end and crossed the line just 0.09 second back while Al Qubaisi continued her strong showing, finishing 3^rd, with Robinson 4^th and Richtermeier coming through to 5^th from the back.

Nothing separated Kermanshahchi and Pook in the Final as the two raced nose to tail for the duration, Pook managing to get in front briefly on Lap 9 before being relegated to 2^nd after Kermanshahchi returned the favour one lap later. Starting the penultimate lap, Pook found himself with a speed advantage following a great exit out of the last corner and he launched a surprise move into Turn 1 that Kermanshahchi was not expecting. The two touched but continued, Kermanshahchi losing out by just over a second in the encounter, with Pook securing a hard-fought win over his fierce rival. Their lap times told the tale of how evenly matched they were - just 0.004 second apart!

Right behind the leaders, Robinson fought hard to squeeze ahead of Al Qubaisi at the first hairpin on Lap 3 and would stay in front of both her and Richtermeier by the finest of margins - just 0.6 second covered all three drivers at the finish line. Unfortunately, Robinson picked up a 10 second penalty for a front bumper displacement which promoted both challengers ahead of him in the classification and prevented his journey to the podium. Dario Rubio secured the award for top MAX Masters driver while Daivik Vishu collected the best novice award.

DD2

A handful of drivers were penalised in DD2 Qualifying for exceeding circuit limits but Anthony Hogg was not one of them as he dialled in an impressive lap on new tyres to steal Pole Position away from Kyle Blockley by just under 0.1 second. Blockley was left frustrated again after the Heat race in which he crossed the line first ahead of Hussain Umid Ali and Hogg, but was then excluded from the classification due to a technical infringement.

The Pre-Final saw a clumsy start with contact between Hogg and Umid Ali resulting in a displaced front bumper for Hogg and a consequent 10 second penalty which saw his race win turn into 6^th place. Blockley recovered well from his poor grid position to cross the line in 2^nd place - the outright race win after Hogg's penalty. Umid Ali's nightmare first lap was mirrored by Kevin Day's and the pair of them had to work hard to come through the field to be classified 2^nd and 3^rd respectively, Day claiming some bragging rights with the fastest lap of the race.

The DD2 final featured just as much drama with Umid Ali leaving it until the very last lap to make a successful move on Kyle Blockley for the race win. Umid Ali was left staring at Blockley's rear bumper for most of the Final, making his move in the dying moments on the last corner with barely any space available. Sadly for him, he was unaware that he had committed a tram line infringement at the start of the race, the resulting 3 second penalty shifting him back behind Blockley in the final classification.

Day and Jose Borges exchanged places multiple times in the opening laps until an issue saw Day retire from the Final on Lap 7. Hogg had endured a difficult start but gradually got into his stride and began to look for ways to get ahead of Borges, with Day's retirement leaving a two-kart battle for the final podium spot. Hogg managed to make a move stick on Lap 12 but Borges kept going and harried Hogg all the way to the line (that's harried, not married, although that is one way of getting Hogg out of your way). Borges suffered the same fate as Umid Ali after a similar tramline infringement added 3 seconds to his race time although his 4^th place remained unaffected. Borges took the best novice award for his performance and will definitely be one to watch throughout the season.

Bambino

It was a close-run thing in Bambinos but Daman Speed Academy driver, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, did consistently well enough across the three Time Trials to finish on the highest number of points and win the event. Just one point separated Mohammed and Enzo Pedraza who finished 2^nd overall. Bertie Gibbons was quickest and on maximum points after the first two Time Trials but he was left stranded as his kart came to a standstill during the final session which robbed him of a chance to secure the outright win. Luckily, Bertie is a wise old campaigner and was content to join Mohammed and Enzo on the podium with his 3^rd place trophy.