AARKC 2011-12 ROUND 7

Round 7 of the 2011/2012 Al Ain Raceway Kart Club Rotax MAX Challenge national karting series was – as I suspect you all know – held at Al Forsan in Abu Dhabi. It’s an exciting place that endured a glistening sunshine that glinted so elegantly off the capitals skyline in the earnest of morn. Sadly this picturesque vista was sent to its death before 10am when a dust storm exploded onto the scene destroying everything and everyone in its path. The strong southerly gale blanketed the UAE’s karting elite in a fine film of sand that despite penetrating every cavity and causing acute discomfort failed to kill the karting fever, an untreatable condition for which there is no known cure. As far as track action was concerned there was all sorts of brouhaha from serene driving to jump starts, from return to form performances to streak ending defeats, Round 7 had it all… Did I mention we were using Format B again? Ah you probably remember anyway… But in the spirit of tradition let’s ramble back through the days events…

JUNIOR MAX – ABDULLAH BACK ON TRACK

Another well subscribed grid for the juniors meant that racing was sure to be a riot. Pasqual Pook had been the man to watch all day and as a reward for his efforts was to begin the final from Pole Position. Tom Bale joined him on the front row on the options with Abdullah Al Rawahi and Patrick Hannah in his wake. Championship leader Cyrus Engineer and Cedric Dreyer lined up 6th and 5th respectively and Guilio Peroni and Sebastian Seeling were 7th and 8th. At the off Pasqual tried to hold onto his lead but was soon passed by both Tom and Abdullah. The new lead brace ran close before Abdullah made a pass at halfway. Once in the lead Tom was powerless to fight back and slipping around on the tyres dropped him to third behind a rapid Patrick Hannah. Running only a few seconds apart Tom was able to find some pace in the dying laps and on the last lap made a dive down the inside of turn… (right, right, left, right, left right, right left…6..7).. the hairpin in the middle. The move was clean and Patrick tried to hang it round the outside but ran out of road. Meanwhile at the front Abdullah was unfazed and crossed the line to get his championship campaign back on track. Tom went on to finish second ahead of third placed Patrick. The battle between Tom and Patrick had allowed Pasqual and Cyrus to close up. They were running in formation and it must be said that Cyrus was having some difficulty. No serious challenge could be mounted from either driver but they can take solace that as far as pace was concerned there was nothing between the top 5. Pasqual crossed the line just a second back on Patrick with Cyrus a further second behind. Cedric Dreyer took a leap forward by getting stuck into the action in the early stages. He couldn’t quite maintain his pace and drove a lonely race to claim 6th. Guilio Peroni drove consistently all day and was classified 7th ahead of Sebastian Seeling who is still learning his new kart in 8th. The championship table makes for some exciting reading…I assume. (Points haven’t been finished yet so I can’t reference them).

SENIOR MAX – EDWARDS RETURN HALTS SANAD DOMINANCE

The Senior MAX class were to run alone without the Masters on Friday, and it certainly helped to paint a clearer picture. Of course the big scoop of the day was the cameo appearance of Edward Jones who took time away from single seaters to take part in the RMC. Edward started the final on Pole Position alongside the series leader Sanad Al Rawahi. Piers Pakenhan-Walsh was third alongside Ali Al Najjar in fourth. Raffaele De Lorenzi and Nikita Miliakov were on row three ahead of Alex Coward and Ammar Rayess on the fourth row of slots. Chris Coles started in 9th. At the off Edward held his lead just as both Sanad and Piers were snapping at his heels. A cool head saw to it that there would be no mishaps and Edward calmly began to pull out a small lead. The lead was stretched out to 6 seconds by the end as Edward took a fantastic win that ended Sanads run of dominance. Piers and Sanad were nigh on inseparable with Piers running in second in the early stages. Sanad appeared to drop some pace but soon recovered it began to reel in Piers. Where the overtake happened will forever be a mystery to this writer but Sanad got back to second at some stage. Piers followed him home in third place. It is widely expected that these two young lads are going to be very close rivals in the future… Nikita Miliakov was enjoying the quiet life after breaking free of the pack in the primitive stages of the race. After he had been released he was lapping second quickest on track but was unable to catch Piers and Sanad. Looking very tidy he crossed the line fourth. Raffaele De Lorenzi and Ali Al Najjar were embroiled in a private little war over 5th place. It was exciting stuff with passes being traded every now and again but victory would go to Raffaele. Chris Coles – sporting a new front bumper – was minding his own business in seventh place after being in the aformentioned fight early on; he crossed the line with 10 seconds in hand. He was fighting with Ammar Rayess who was sadly disqualified from the finishing order after coming in underweight. Alex Coward was subsequently promoted to 8th place. The points have still not been finished so… well I think it’s safe to assume that Sanad is still leading.

MAX MASTER – BAUWMANS ONA ROLL

Going for a slightly different flavour, the Masters drivers and the organisers agreed to trial the Masters running behind the DD2’s. It seemed to go well. Luc Bauwmans began the race from Pole with Paul Woodfield in second and Walid Al Qassemi in third. Andrew Fuller was fourth on the grid next to Raed Hassan. Ronald Zouien started 6th and Jonathan Mowatt 7th. They were followed by Bruno De Champris and Kevin Day. Perry Spruit did not take the start. At the lights Luc decided immediately that he’d rather get stuck into the DD2 tail-enders and caused alarm when he audaciously passed a couple of them! Clearly in a league of his own the Abu Dhabi resident ran solo right the way to the end with a margin of over 7 seconds in his pocket. Walid Al Qassemi dropped back initially and had to recover some lost ground. He had to fight his way past an on form Paul Woodfield and capitalised on Andrew Fuller’s ailing engine to jump into second place and run unhindered to the chequered flag. Andrew must be thinking what on earth he must have done in a past life as his luck yet again failed to improve. With his engine misfiring and popping on left hand corners he nursed his poorly kart home in fourth place allowing Paul Woodfield to cruise home and take the final podium position. Raed Hassan was unable to make headway on Andrew. He had major repairs executed on his kart after a hairy moment in a previous heat and as such was unable to exploit the perils of the kart ahead and crossed the line in 5th. Ronald was a further five seconds back in 6th position ahead of seventh place Bruno. Kevin retired 1 lap from home after he and his team mate Jonathan had a curious collision at the middle hairpin earlier on. The points still aren’t finished… but the law of mathematics will surely suggest that both Luc and Walid have closed the gap to Andrew in the title race. The question is; by how much…

DD2 – MOHAMMED FIGHTS BACK

The DD2 class is awesome this year; with a whole crop of decent drivers the racing has proven to be entertaining each time. Even when moods flare the element of hot competition can’t be denied. The starting grid looked very familiar indeed with some chap called Maurits Knopjes being told to start from first. Arnaud Bouf joined him on the front row ahead of Mohammed Al Dhaheri and Hasher Al Maktoum. Khalid Al Nahyan and Oliver George made up row three and Patrick Jarjour was twinned with Hussain Umid Ali on row 4. Mohammed Al Zaabi started 9th. When the start lights out; the race – in typical fashion – began. To describe the trajectory and position of each kart through the opening sequence of bends is impossible, so the facts: Maurits lead and Mohammed it was suspected was second. Hasher seemed to have trouble as he appeared near the back with a twisted side-pod mounting. Oliver made a lightning start and after a decent battle with Khalid found himself in third place. Meanwhile in front-land Maurits dropped in pace and Mohammed made the most of it by getting by on lap *cough*. Maurits is no quitter and despite the fact that Mohammed seemed to have better pace launched a counter attack. The two Champions played a game of shadows and all the while Oliver was catching up. Around that massive right handed corner that this writer couldn’t actually see, Maurits lined up for a move to take the lead but it back fired and as a result dropped to third behind the wily Oliver, or so I’m told. Regardless of how it happened Mohammed crossed the line first to take his first win of 2012 and kick started his campaign with Oliver close behind in second and Maurits in third. Arnaud meanwhile was alone in fourth not really causing too much trouble. The battle for 5th between Patrick and Khalid was quite entertaining and the former defended his position fairly and cleanly despite Khalid pushing him hard all the way to the end. They crossed the finish line only a tenth apart. Hasher was nursing his bodywork damage home as best as he could and must be wondering when his luck will change; he was classified 7th ahead of Mohammed Al Zaabi and Hussain Umid Ali. As I write the points are nearing completion but I haven’t seen them yet so… well I guess Maurits still leads.

CADET – A SAD WAY TO END THE DAY

The Cadet class ran at Al Forsan under non-championship conditions. As such no points were up for grabs and the event was simply an opportunity for the drivers to hone their skills. Education would be a good description. After the “start” Taymour Kermanshahchi found himself down and out after 3 laps and was forced into retirement. This allowed Zachary Robertson to drift into a clear lead and pull away. He set fastest lap after fastest lap and by the end had achieved a victory margin of 9.6 seconds. Tehmur Chohan also ran solo in second place, another excellent drive by the upcoming star. Charlie Bale was running in third place after a close run battle with Ivan Berets and Finn Healy crossed the line in 5th after another trouble-free run. Sadly the race results could not be posted as a Stewards enquiry ensued. After an initial false start the restart threw up a couple of problems. Zachary Robertson and Tehmur Chohan were both proven to have jumped the start and as such were handed 10 second penalties each. It was a sorry way to end the day but uniquely Zachary was able to maintain his victory despite the penalty on account of his massive margin. But there was no such luck for Tehmur as he was demoted to fourth.

Ah, right, the points table I’m told is nearing completion. Right then, in Junior MAX Abdullah is leading again on 601 points from Cyrus on 580 and Pasqual is third on 497. The Seniors…hang on…Sanad is on 688, Nikitia is second on 551 and Raffaele is third with 475. Masters, Masters, Masters…there it is…right Andrew still leads with 603 points but Luc has closed up and is on 565. Walid isn’t too far behind on 527. Finally DD2. Where are you….ah…Maurits still leads wiiiiiith…636 points. Hasher is second on 504, Oliver is third onnnnnnn 495 and Mohammed sits fourth on 481. Hopefully that’s right.

And that brings this missive to a conclusion. There seems to be a lot of optimism in the air after round 7 which is good news, or maybe that sand. Just a quick word to some entrants: remember that you are expected to set an example to the younger drivers and your attitudes are of equal importance to the series. Those who sound off – especially at children – risk their associated driver’s race license being cut in half. So please, to the tiny minority of you that need reminding, pull your socks up. But to the overwhelming majority of the drivers, entrants and spectators who continue to do the sport proud; thank you sincerely. Al Ain Raceway would also like to thank Al Forsan for hosting another good race meeting and they have promised that they will turn the wind off next time… You should have seen our place! Battered! See you all here in windy Al Ain onnnn thheeeee…. Hang on….2nd March.

Epistle by Marty Fullard