18 November 2016
● Lachlan Robinson wins thriller in Junior MAX
● Pasqual Pook does the double in MAX
● Keinde takes maiden victory in Micro MAX
● Jamie Day (Mini MAX) and Tony Hogg (DD2) also top the podium at Round 3
Competitors returned to Al Forsan International Sports Resort for Round 3 of the UAE Rotax MAX Challenge on Saturday 12th November, just hours after wrapping up Round 2 the preceding day. As is the way of things with 'double-header' events, drivers would be given a second chance to top the podium while a select few would be given an opportunity to double their silverware and rub everyone else's noses in it in the process.
There were no run-away winners at Round 2. In fact, with a few surprises thrown up in the Finals and drivers so evenly matched throughout the day, it was anybody's guess who would leave the popular Abu Dhabi venue in charge of each Championship.
Could Round 2's winners lock out the podium top spot for a second day running? Or would a few pretenders knock them off their perch? One thing was certain - all assembled were in for some fantastic action once the racers managed to escape the clutches of the Clerk of the Course Chief Steward in the Briefing Room!
Junior MAX
The Junior MAX drivers had already whetted everyone's appetites on Friday with virtually nothing between them all day and Saturday's qualifying session maintained the status quo. With only 0.5 second covering 1st to 9th, it was Denis Bahar who topped the timesheets for the 2nd day in a row with a mighty 57.471s ahead of Tai Zulberti - the fastest 5 drivers all beating Round 2's Pole Position time!
In the Heat race, Bahar made amends for his woeful start off Pole Position the day before by leading from start to finish with a fine, composed drive. From 3rd on the grid, Lachlan Robinson tailed Bahar through the first corner, snatching 2nd from Zulberti, and managed to stave off the advances of Eliot Jones, Lucas Petersson and Zulberti to the flag.
It was all about the start in the Pre-Final as team mates Robinson and Petersson got the jump on both Jones and Bahar to head the field in 1st and 2nd respectively, an advantage they would keep to the chequered flag despite some desperately close racing. Zulberti, recovering from 9th on the grid after a penalty, tagged onto this lead group and crossed the line 5th, just 1.3 seconds off the lead, with Connor Donovan and Hamda Al Qubaisi also in close contention.
The Final was arguably the race of the day with any of the top 8 drivers in with a chance of taking the win, although the fight was particularly intense between the top 5. Robinson consolidated his Pole Position at the start, holding the early lead from Petersson and Bahar while Zulberti moved ahead of Jones on the opening lap and followed that up with a successful move for 3rd on Lap 2 which dropped Bahar back to 4th, ahead of Jones.
The pace and consistency of the Juniors was mesmerising as, for the next 6 laps, they lapped within milliseconds of each other, sizing each other up as the business end of the race approached. It was Lap 9 of 12 before we saw another move for position, Zulberti somehow managing to get in front of Petersson to take 2nd while Liam Crystal edged ahead of Al Qubaisi for 7th place toward the rear of the front group.
Robinson was under real pressure at the front, particularly as Zulberti had been the first of three drivers to pass him on the final lap of Round 2's Final. As the last lap board emerged, Mrs Robinson (watching from the stands and looking like she might have another baby at any moment) peered through her fingers as Robinson Junior maintained his pace and his place.
Zulberti had been frustrated by Robinson's precision on the final lap but, not giving up, he took a deeper line into the final corner, thereby picking up better exit speed than the race leader. With both alongside each other on the drag to the line it was left to the timing system to declare Robinson the victor by just 0.08 second from Zulberti, Petersson, Bahar, Jones, Donovan, Crystal and Al Qubaisi.
It was a tough day at the office for Crystal who received 10s penalties in both Heat and Pre-Final for a displaced front fairing but he finally had something to smile about at the chequered flag as he crossed the line as part of the lead group and with the fastest lap of the weekend.
MAX
In MAX it was the inseparable pair of Pasqual Pook and Taymour Kermanshahchi who once again set the pace with Pook out-qualifying his bitter rival by a mere 0.081 second. Keeping them honest, though, Jan Richtermeier and Jakob Robinson were equally well-matched as they finished the session 3rd and 4th respectively with only 0.028 second between them.
Kermanshahchi looked to have the measure of Pook in the Heat race, crossing the line first after a successful overtake on the final lap. Richtermeier headed home Amna Al Qubaisi for 3rd place while Robinson stayed ahead of Andrew Hunt who completed the top 6. However, the Senior Officials were left displeased with all of the above for their failure to slow under yellow flags and all were excluded from the results. This left the animated Gianluca Elmosi as the race winner ahead of Daivik Vishu in 2nd.
Elmosi made the most of his Pole Position with a text book start in the Pre-Final that saw him retain his lead while most of the field scrapped fiercely to recover as much ground as possible after their acrimonious setback in the Heat. Pook was out of the traps quickest, up to 2nd place by the end of lap 1 and managing to sneak past Elmosi on Lap 3. Kermanshahchi was in hot pursuit, also slipping past Elmosi on the same lap, and tailing Pook to the chequered flag. Al Qubaisi and Richtermeier made good progress but Elmosi stubbornly resisted their advances and secured 3rd position, his best ever result (if you don't count races where everyone in front of him has been disqualified).
Pook and Kermanshahchi both got away well from the line in the Final and raced off into the distance, exchanging fastest laps all the way to the finish. Despite excellent raw pace, Kermanshahchi could not get close enough to fashion an overtaking opportunity and Pook's win meant that he stood out as the only competitor over the weekend to win both class Finals.
Sitting 3rd on the grid and on the favoured inside line, Al Qubaisi tried to capitalise with an early move on the inside of Kermanshahchi. Unfortunately for the Daman Speed Academy racer it didn't quite work out as she endured a difficult start, dropping back behind Richtermeier and Robinson before Turn 2. With Al Qubaisi dispatched, Richtermeier forged ahead and managed to break Elmosi's stubborn resistance on Lap 3 to take 3rd place.
Al Qubaisi was recovering strongly, taking back 5th place from Robinson and catching and passing Elmosi by the end of lap 7 to move to 4th. A strong latter half of the race saw her close up to within 0.4 second of Richtermeier but, with no opportunity to overtake, she crossed the line in 4th. Sadly for Richtermeier, a displaced front bumper meant that 10 seconds was added to his race time, dropping him down to 7th behind Elmosi, Dario Rubio and Andrew Hunt. Al Qubaisi's consequent promotion to 3rd meant that the same faces were on the same steps of the podium on both race days with Elmosi's impressive 4th place overall securing his award for being the highest-placed Master.
Micro MAX
Oscar McElroy set the pace in Qualifying, narrowly ahead of Diaraf Keinde and Keanu Al Azhari, as both Rashid Al Dhaheri (P4) and Georgie Zouein (P6) had their fastest laps removed for exceeding circuit limits during the session. Without those penalties, Al Dhaheri would have topped the timesheets with Zouein in 4th and only 0.04 second would have separated the top 4 - such are the fine margins of the Micro MAX class.
McElroy started the Heat race well but lost the lead to Al Azhari on Lap 3 with Finn Farrell-Morton also moving through into 2nd. The lead would change hands repeatedly between Al Azhari and Farrell-Morton before the end of the race but it would be Al Azhari who would take the chequered flag first. Zouein dropped to 8th on the opening lap but rose to 3rd before losing a place to Keinde on the final lap. Sadly, a front bumper displacement dropped him from 4th back to 10th position. Al Dhaheri (5th) followed McElroy (4th) over the line, setting the fastest lap of the race, with Harry Hannam on his coat-tails in 6th.
More superb racing was on display in the Pre-Final as 0.2 second covered the top 4! Al Azhari lost the lead early on to Keinde but regained it again on Lap 3 with Farrell-Morton following him through. Al Dhaheri was again in the mix before losing out to Keinde and McElroy on Lap 5 and Zouein on Lap 6, eventually finishing in 6th place. At the front it was drama all the way to the line as, four-abreast, Al Azhari kept his nose just ahead of Farrell-Morton and Keinde who could only be separated by timekeeping (0.005 second in Farrell-Morton's favour) with McElroy completing the closest finish of the day with the fastest lap of the whole weekend.
The Final was a race of two halves with a fast, frantic opening 6 laps leading out a processional, albeit extremely close, race to the flag. Unusually for Micro MAX, the top 3 eased away in the early stages as the rest of the field lost time scrapping for position. With Al Azhari leading after 2 laps, Keinde made a move for the race lead and Farrell-Morton also capitalised, relegating Al Azhari to 3rd. The next 3 laps would prove pivotal as Al Azhari and Farrell-Morton's squabble behind the new race leader allowed Keinde to eke out a small advantage. Although only just over 1 second, there was clear daylight between Keinde and the chasing pair and this, coupled with Al Azhari and Farrell-Morton keeping an eye on each other, was the psychological edge Keinde needed to convert his lead into his maiden victory in the Micro MAX category. Al Azhari would keep Farrell-Morton behind him to complete the podium and a satisfying weekend for these three young racers.
Zouein had started the Final well, moving past McElroy into 4th while Al Dhaheri slipped to 8th before beginning his fight back. Hannam, having retired from the Pre-Final, enjoyed an amazing opening lap, reaching 6th before losing a place to Al Dhaheri on Lap 3. Zouein lost out to both McElroy and Al Dhaheri on Lap 4 before moving back past the same pair on Lap 5, with Al Dhaheri sneaking ahead of McElroy during the exchanges. In clean air, Zouein was absolutely flying and made it to within touching distance of Al Azhari and Farrell-Morton by the chequered flag, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Disastrously, though, and to compound a luckless weekend, a displaced front bumper and accompanying penalty dropped him to 10th. A character-building weekend indeed. Al Dhaheri was awarded 4th with McElroy 5th and Hannam 6th.
Mini MAX
Four of the major contenders in Mini MAX had their fastest lap taken away in Qualifying for exceeding circuit limits. Fortunately for Khaled Ray Saab, Jamie Day, Ziggy Kermanshahchi and Theo Kekati, their 2nd fastest laps were close enough not to compromise their classification significantly. Nadim Khneisser came out on top, his 60.732s lap beating Day's benchmark from the previous morning, with around half a second covering the top 9.
Kermanshahchi enjoyed a blinding first lap of the Heat race, moving from 4th on the grid into the lead. Khneisser lost 2nd place to Day on Lap 2 and then got tangled up in an incident with the front runners on the following lap which dropped him all the way to the back and out of contention. Kekati had made a storming start from 8th and was up as high as 3rd when he received a mechanical failure flag in error from the marshals which was meant for Jakub Fitzsimmons. A trip to the pits in obedience ended Kekati's charge while Fitzsimmons joined him one lap later. Back at the front Kermanshahchi and Day were taking in turns to lead the field but Kermanshahchi made the final definitive move on Lap 4 and took the win from Day with Saab leading a rapid Kamal Agha across the line for 3rd and 4th positions.
Kekati was well and truly back in the Pre-Final as he stormed through from the back to take victory with the fastest lap of the race. Things opened up for him on Lap 7 when Day and Kermanshahchi came together while battling for the lead. The resulting contact allowed Kekati to nip past the pair of them while Kermanshahchi initially dropped back to 9th before retiring. Day tailed Kekati home but a 2 place penalty would promote Saab and Fitzsimmons to 2nd and 3rd in the classification. Agha would have been ahead of Fitzsimmons in 3rd but a tramline infringement at the start added 10 seconds to his race time and a light-hearted face-palm from mummy (who remains proud regardless).
The Final was all about Day who managed to pass Fitzsimmons on Lap 1 and Saab on Lap 2 before seizing the race lead from Kekati on Lap 4 and holding it to the flag. That does not mean it wasn't close as Kekati stuck to Day like a limpet until the last lap when his patience ran out and he tried an overly ambitious move into the hairpin after the chicane. Unfortunately for Kekati, he lost control of his kart as well as his position, limping home in 9th place after losing 10 seconds in the incident.
Unperturbed, Day completed the race just 1 second ahead of Saab and the jubilant Fitzsimmons who got to enjoy his first visit to a Rotax MAX Challenge podium. Khneisser made good progress to finish 4th while Kermanshahchi sustained some damage to his kart in a bizarre crash on the formation lap with Jack Carless which slightly hampered his race pace. His solid drive to 5th was short-lived as he then suffered the ignominy of a 10 second penalty for a displaced front bumper, dropping him to 9th.
Abdulla Al Qubaisi was promoted to 5th with Daman Speed Academy teammate, Ali Al Shamsi, in 6th and Agha 7th.
DD2
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Anthony Hogg topped the table in DD2 Qualifying for the second day running, narrowly edging out Kyle Blockley and Hussain Umid Ali with all 3 of them under Round 2's Pole time.
Hogg was out of the blocks quickly from Pole Position in the Heat race but Umid Ali was with him every step of the way and secured a passing move on Lap 2 to sneak in front, an advantage he would carry to the chequered flag despite strong pressure from Hogg. It was a pretty untidy affair behind them with a couple of incidents leading to retirement. Avoiding the carnage, Nabil Hussain impressed to finish 3rd with James Hanney 4th. Blockley continued to circulate despite some damage to his rear bumper which the senior officials deemed unsafe. He actually crossed the line in 4th place but critically only after ignoring the mechanical failure flag, his penance being exclusion from the result.
Roles were reversed in the Pre-Final as Umid Ali led Hogg for 2 laps before Hogg nipped ahead and pulled away to seal an emphatic victory. Umid Ali struggled for pace and continued to lose ground to his main rivals. Ultimately he was powerless to prevent Blockley from snatching 2nd place, but he just managed to stay ahead of Nabil Hussain to take 3rd.
It was business as usual for Hogg at the start of the Final as he retained his first place around the first corner. Behind him it was a fairly frantic opening lap as drivers jostled for position. Hanney was enjoying his time in 4th until he was forced to retire on Lap 4. Mohammed Matar Al Shamsi suffered similarly one lap later. Kevin Day finally announced his presence in the Final after an uncharacteristically quiet weekend. From the very back, he progressively moved through the field to 5th place where he began his tireless pursuit of Jose Borges.
Hogg was looking calm and unflustered (for the first time in history) as he built a small but ultimately insurmountable gap between himself and his pursuers. 2.5 seconds would be his eventual margin of victory and, boy, did he enjoy it. Well deserved. Behind him, it was anything but calm and unflustered as Umid Ali and Blockley resumed hostilities. Umid Ali held 2nd place until Lap 10 when Blockley found a gap and took the place but Umid Ali would nose ahead again on Lap 12. Blockley would have the last laugh, however, as his final overtake on the last lap proved to be the last exchange. Umid Ali drew alongside out of the final corner and the two crossed the line side by side but Blockley edged it by 0.04 second. Day caught Borges with a couple of laps to go but could not find a way through and had to settle for 5th.
Another double-header weekend awaits us next month as Rounds 4 and 5 of the UAE Rotax MAX Challenge take place at Al Ain Raceway on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th December.
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