Sports | Monday 20 June, 2016 1:24 pm |

Saeed Al Mehairi recorded two wins out of three on the night to clinch the Senior Cup title in Round two of the Ramadan Challenge karting sprint series at the Dubai Kartdrome in MotorCity.

 

Qualifying was extremely close, with less than a second separating the top 13 drivers’ times as Romaldo Labrooy set the bar on Sunday with a scorching lap of 1:12.262.

 

Labrooy Romaldo had pole position in race one but couldn’t keep it as Rami Azzam got the jump on him and took the win by 4.037 seconds. Labrooy settled for second, followed closely by Abigail Birch in third.

 

Azzam and Romaldo battled it out again in race two, but Al Mehairi sneaked through and beat both of them to the checkered flag. He then followed up by winning race three to take the title on the night by a single point from Azzam. Labrooy was another two points away in third.

 

The evening was initiated with racing at the Indoor Circuit for the new Junior Cup category, open to kart racers between 7 and 14 years old.  First round winner Kamal Agha found the going tougher on this occasion as Samir Malas signalled his intent with the fastest qualifying time of 37.069.

 

Malas then clipped Agha by 1.182 seconds to take race one in Group B, but both he and Malas were beaten as Oliver Walton jumped into the mix to win race two.

 

Justin Thielecke dominated Group A with two wins in a row, putting him in a great position for the Grand Final.

 

Despite starting third on the grid in the deciding junior race, Walton rocketed off the line to steal the lead, fighting off his pursuers and storming home for the win. Agha had to settle for second, with Justin Thielecke a close third.

 

In the Masters group, a sub-category of the Senior Cup, it was Mohammed Ismail Ali who once again triumphed for the second successive round. Gary Jones earned second spot on the podium, with Heiki Eelma securing third.

 

Ramadan Challenge Race Director David Bright said: “I was impressed with the level of talent on display.  We mixed up the race format with different types of reverse grids and still the best racers keep coming out on top.”

 

The series normally attracts the best leisure kart racers in the region, with prizes awarded to the top three drivers in each category at the end of four rounds.  The crowning prize for the Senior Cup Champion is a fully funded Rotax or Iame race weekend, courtesy of Energy Karts Dubai.

 

The Junior Cup Champion will also be rewarded with a fully funded race weekend of Rotax or Iame, courtesy of CRG Middle East. Kart racers of all ages will battle for a host of prizes awarded at the end of four rounds on Sunday, 3 July 2016.

 

2016 Ramadan Challenge Schedule (all rounds at Dubai Kartdrome)

 

•           Round 3: Sunday, 26 June 2016

•           Round 4: Sunday, 3 July 2016