Pasqual Pook returns in style at Dubai Kartdrome

Rotax Max final podium (L to R), second place Ahmed Al Khamisi winner Pasqual Pook and third placed Giulio Peroni

Dubai Kartdrome hosted the third round of the 12-round 2015-2016 UAE Rotax MAX Challenge on Friday, where the country’s top karting drivers battled it out, delivering close and tense racing throughout the day.

Pasqual Pook emerged from the junior ranks of UAE karting to become a force in the Rotax MAX class, but last year he suffered an injury which sidelined him for a big part of the season and the current preseason.

On Friday – the first race day of the double header weekend at the Kartdrome – Pook emphatically signaled his return to the top in the best way possible by dominating the MAX class. He claimed pole position with a time 0.868 of a second faster than his closest rival, and then proceeded to win the Heat race, the Pre-final and the Final in convincing style, powering to top spot of the podium by a margin of over nine seconds to his closest challenger.

Pook said afterwards, “Today was a really good day.  I comfortably won the Heat race and the Pre-final. Then, in the Final, I managed to get a good start and pulled away to win the race. My kart was amazing all day, my mechanic did a top job and really it was all down to him.”

Best of the rest was Ahmed Al Khamisi, who has emerged as a revelation of the season so far, claiming second place after a race long duel with Giulio Peroni who finished third, ahead of Lee Broadbank in fourth, Jakob Robinson fifth and Fraser Rose sixth.

The final of the DD2 (combined with DD2 Masters) saw Emanuele Pagani of Scuderia Tony Kart take top honours after a four way battle for the lead with Abdullah Al Rawahi, Oliver George and Sanad Al Rawahi. The latter crashed out with a couple of laps to go, which saw his brother Abdullah claim second spot and George grabbing third and with it the top prize in the DD2 Masters class.

Emanuele Pagani won the DD2 Final at the Dubai Kartdrome

Hussain Umid Ali was second placed DD2 Master, and in his slipstream as they crossed the finish line was Kevin Day in third.

Fresh from his Rotax MAX Grand Finals adventure in Portugal, Taymour Kermanshahchi was clearly inspired as he claimed pole position for the Junior MAX class before powering to three consecutive victories, including the Final.

Perdana Putra Minang and Khalid Al Wahaibi gave chase all day and Minang was a close second in the Final with Al Wahaibi taking third after fending off Noah Kruegel in fourth, ahead of Amna Al Qubaisi in fifth and sixth going to Eliot Jones.

Some of the closest racing of the day took place in the Mini MAX class, with Energy UAE’s Jamie Day emerging the winner after fending off Sem Knopjes in the Final. The pair were separated by less than a quarter of a second when the chequered flag waved.

Ziggy Kermanshahchi was not far behind in third, ahead of Hamda Al Qubaisi in fourth, Shihab Al Habsi fifth and Connor Donovan rounding out the top half dozen.

Omani driver Mohamed Al Habsi, racing with Tony Kart, was in fine form in the Micro MAX class, after qualifying third he went on to win the Heat race, the Pre-final and the Final. The latter he won by 2.3 seconds, ahead of second placed Gaia Eichenberger and Alex Connor finishing third.

Georgie Zouein, who won the opening round in Al Ain last month, was fourth in the Final ahead of Ali Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Saadi who ended fifth and sixth respectively.

The Bambino Time Trials, featuring the smallest and youngest of the country’s kart drivers, was dominated by Harry Hannam who topped the timing screens in all three sessions with female racer Alisia Khneisser second fastest throughout the day.

Kartdrome’s David Bright summed up Round 3, “It was a tough day of intense racing as we have come to expect in the Rotax MAX Challenge and invariably there many talking points at the end of another good day for karting in the UAE.  Congratulations and applause to the winners, and well done to the other podium finishers and everyone who competed and officiated on this first day of the Kartdrome double header.”