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Day 1 Report: Rotax Max & SWS Sprint Double Header A The Dubai Kartdrome
The first day of the UAE Rotax Max Championship and the SWS Sprint races delivered some of the closest racing seen at the venue for some time, with bumper grids signaling that local motorsport at grassroots level is growing and in a healthy state.
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A record field of 26 drivers qualified for the combined Senior Max and Max Masters. On the day the trio of Alexandre Silanine, Ameer Hassan and Philippe Valenza were the pace setters as they battled it out for top honours from qualifying through to the final race, with little to separate the three throughout the day.
Valenza signaled his intent by snatching pole in qualifying, but Hassan took top spot in Heat 1, with Valenza bouncing back in the Pre-final to take the win and set up a nail biting finale.
Having to settle for second in Heat 1 and then third in the Pre-final, Silanine turned the tables on his rivals to notch up well deserved victory in the Final. He made no mistake on his way to victory, despite intense pressure from Hassan who trailed him over the finish line by only 0.246 seconds and Valenza just 0.416 seconds further back in third.
Walid Al Qassemi was unbeatable in the Max Masters class as he powered to strong wins in all three races, including the Final where he beat Duncan Foster and Raed Hassan, who were second and third respectively.
In the DD2, shifter kart class, Oliver George was in impressive form qualifying on pole then winning all three races including the Final. Although it was not an easy afternoon for him, as he was chased hard all day long by DD2 debutant Saeed Al Mehairi who finished second in the Final with Mohammed Al Dhaheri third.
It was a good debut for Al Mehairi, who a week earlier celebrated Class A2 victory with Lap57 Racing at the Dunlop 24 Hours over the boulevard at Dubai Autodrome. Second in his first DD2 race sends a clear warning to the pace setters in the category.
Arnaud Bouf won the DD2 Masters ahead of Patrick Jarjour and Jonathan Mowatt.
There was disappointment for Tom Bale and Pascal Pook in the Max Juniors race. The pair had dominated proceedings until the Final, when once again they pulled away from the field and slugged it out with Bale setting the pace and Pook attacking whenever possible. The two touched heading into the downhill sweep and Pook retired on the spot, with Bale continuing but down the order.
This promoted lady racer Stephanie Le Vesconte to first place and her first victory, in her first race, at the Kartdrome. She was followed across the line by Sheikh Isa Salman Khalifa who was racing for the first time at the Kartdrome having made the journey with his team from Bahrain. Third place went to Giulio Peroni.
Alain Bauwmans was another driver to score a hat-trick of wins on the first day of the double header, taking top spot three times in the Mini Max class followed over the line in the Final by Tehmur Chohan and Ivan Berets.
Sem Knopjes, son of retired multiple UAE champion Maurtis Knopjes, showed that the winning streak runs in the family as he proved to be unbeatable in the Micro Max class, also notching up triple race wins, including victory in the final where he was followed over the line by Theo Kekati and Amir Dargahi.
The SWS RX7 field was the biggest of the day with 28 drivers taking to the track for qualifying, which saw Ramez Azzam claim pole position. Thereafter he was simply untouchable powering to two convincing victories and reaffirming himself as one of the fastest leisure kart drivers in the country.
In Race 1, over four seconds down on his brother was Rami Azzam who finished second, after fending off the attentions of Atef Barwani and Sam Zian.
In Race 2 we were treated to one of the most riveting battles for second place witnessed at the Kartdrome. At the very front Ramez Azzam made a strong start and powered into the distance, never to be threatened as he made it two wins from two starts.
Behind him was all action as Rami Azzam, Zian and Barwan swapped position on every lap, the trio running nose to tail throughout the 11 lap race. When the chequered flag came out to end proceedings, it was Zian who had edged ahead on the final lap to claim second place, followed by Rami Azzam who was a mere 0.122 seconds behind and Barwani 0.208 seconds adrift.
Barwani and Zian were busy on the day as they both lined up on the grid for the SWS RX250 race where Barwani was invincible taking both wins, with Husain Umid Ali second and Zian third in Race 1. In Race 2 it wasa reversal of roles behind the winner Barwani, with Zian taking second ahead of third placed Umid Ali.
Day two of the Kartdrome double header gets underway at 10.00 am with a warm-up session for the Mini Max drivers. Qualifying is at 10.45 am, with the first race of 16 on the day set to be flagged off at 11.45 am. The podium ceremony, at the end of the race day is expected to be around 17.45 pm.
Spectators are welcome to attend, admission is free with good viewing access of all the action. Refreshments and snacks will be available at the track or from a myriad of eateries on the Motorcity Boulevard which is walking distance from the Kartdrome.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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