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DFRT made history when they powered to victory in the event, becoming the first all Emirati driver line-up to win a karting endurance race in the UAE – and by the narrowest of margins at the end of an intriguing 12 hours of racing.
CGR captuted the title in the corporate section.
Captained by Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, including two of the country’s top young motor racing talents in Saeed Al Mehairi and Mohammed Al Mutawaa, the team had a race long battle with reigning champions Batelco – never more than a lap separating the two contenders, often swapping positions at the front.
With an hour to go Al Maktoum took over the Dubai Falcons kart, leading the race by a mere 12 seconds with Batelco’s Alban Verutti drafted in for the last stint.
What followed was a tension packed final hour as Verutti dug deep to try and reel in Al Maktoum, but the Dubai Falcons captain kept his cool in scorching conditions to take victory by a mere 5.687 seconds, completing 579 laps in the process.
Al Maktoum was clearly pleased with the achievement and commented afterwards, “I am very happy with this win. We have come close in the past but made small mistakes that cost us. But today we made no mistakes and stuck to a good pace which, in the end, was enough to win. Being an all Emirati driver line-up makes it extra special.” Team-mate Al Mutawaa was equally pleased, “It is very satisfying to win with such good drivers and all of us being UAE nationals is good for the sport. I am very happy to have been part of this victory.”
The third driver in the line-up, Al Mehairi echoed the sentiments, “We worked hard for this victory, it was tough conditions but we kept focused and made no mistakes which has led to this great win. It was a pleasure to race with such good drivers in our team.”
Behind them, round 1 winners, Batelco had to settle for second place but will be satisfied that they gave a strong performance. Verutti was visibly crestfallen, but anyone who witnessed his gutsy pursuit of Al Maktoum in the final hour will know that the Bahraini team did not give up and kept pushing until the chequered flag dropped. Third place went to CGR 1 who crossed the line to take, not only third overall, but also top honours in the Corporate category – they beat CGR 2 by 0.123 seconds as they crossed the line nose to tail after 12 grueling hours.
Both teams leading during the early stages of the race, always within striking distance of the leaders and again delivering a professional performance both on and off the track.
With that the CGR teams also took the top two spots in the corporate category with MBC Action taking third place.
Pierre Choueiri, chairman and CEO, Choueiri Group, and CGR team boss said of the achievement, “We set our goals, worked hard to achieve them and here we are one two in the Corporate category, with third and fourth overall. The boys practiced hard, showed great commitment and fighting spirit. But most importantly we had fun.”
Timeless Events Racing have established themselves this season as one of the front running teams and fifth place was a deserved reward, after running the entire hours in amongst the pace setters.
Similarly UAE Arrow Racing Team and Al Ain Rockets, were always in contention for a podium finish, but had to settle for sixth and seventh respectively.
TrackTalk MediaBoltz had one of their strongest showings on their way to eigth, with Rotax Masters taking ninth and MBC Action rounding out the top ten. There is a break now in the four round 2012 Kartdrome Endurance Championship Driven By MINI, with the next round scheduled for October and the final round in December.
RESULTS
1) 17 Dubai Falcon Racing Team 579; 2) 19 Batelco 579; 3) 3 CG Racing 576; 4) 2 CG Racing 2 576; 5) 15 Timeless Events Racing 575; 6) 18 UAE Arrow Racing Team 575; 7) 23 Al Ain Rockets 573; 8) 22 TrackTalk MediaBoltz 571; 9) 20 Rotax Masters 568; 10) 4 MBC Action 567.
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