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Emirati Lap 57 Team Ready for Future Challenges

The all-UAE Al Qasba Lap 57 Racing Team may have failed to achieve a podium in their maiden attempt at the 24 Hours of Dubai race

But they can be proud of the fact they managed to complete the endurance race despite several mechanical gremlins which cost them more than five hours.

“The last 23 and half hours was like a drama movie. There were good moments and bad moments. It was fluctuating,” said the live wire of the team Omran Al Owais who was seen enthusiastically capturing the historic moments from his photo lens for posterity.

He embodied the adventurous spirit of the team members from mechanics to crew who competed against the odds in their debut venture at endurance racing. “Right now you can see them sleeping with their eyes smiling. I said this is what was meant by 24 hours. We are enthusiasts and not professionals. We came to do it because we love to do it. From team manager to drivers to mechanics, we are not getting paid for it,” said Omran who felt it would have been a huge disappointment if they did not complete the race.

“For most of us it’s the first time. Nobody had a clue what’s 24 hours racing. Hopefully within next half an hour we’ll see that we get the chequered flag.

“Then we will believe in ourselves that we have accomplished something today. And hopefully we will see other Emirati drivers coming on board. And challenge others by doing it over and over again until we get the podium,” said Omran speaking shortly before the end of the race.

“Our aim in this race was to get to podium. We saw it coming. We felt we could get it. Unfortunately our choice of car was not very good,” he said.

“We were getting the fastest laps in our category. Each driver was improving on the timings. Unfortunately the car was not very reliable. Everytime it broke down, it was major,” said Omran whose younger sibling Mohammed took the chequered flag. Umair Khan and Saeed Al Mehairi were the co-drivers of Lap 57 which competed in the A2 category on a Honda Civic.

They had to replace the gearbox twice and were virtually out of the running after 15 hours. “First time the gearbox broke down that got fixed because we had a spare.

“That also troubled us and luckily we had a friend who gave his gearbox. It was very nice for other teams and drivers to support the Emirati team. We went out again after four hours of delay. Other teams were ahead of us by 30 or 40 laps. So we tried to push but that put us into more problems since the rear wheel left brake conked and later the wheel came off,” he said.

“This was in middle of night at 2.30 or 3. It was very difficult for mechanics to stay awake. It was very hard to keep them motivated because it was a very enduring job,” he said talking of their experience.

Omran did most of the night driving which was an even tougher challenge. “It was very difficult because all the cars had huge flash lights. We need glasses at night because there is so much beam and headlights from the rear. But it was very challenging,” he said.

“It was amazing, not just from the track but just looking at our neighbours from different international teams. We have seen how they work, how they are disciplined,” he said.

He exuded confidence and does not shy away from future challenges. “Hopefully within a year or so, we would like to try this outside.

“We are going to see how we can organise our team better. This is just the start, we are just warming up right now,” he said.

allaam@khaleejtimes.com