Qualifying Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2012

Team UAE today endured the qualifying stage of the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, a stage which determines the starting positions for each driver in the upcoming heat stages.  Success was measured in different ways as Team UAE’s fortunes were certainly mixed.

In 125 MAX, Abdullah Al Rawahi set the 20^th fastest time in his class, which puts him 57^th overall out the 71 drivers.  To put that into perspective he was 0.985 seconds behind the fastest driver; Pierce Lehane.  The Portimao circuit is one of the fastest in Europe and the advantage of a slipstream can elevate a driver by 20-30 places over the course of one lap.  Abdullah said “I tried to get a good tow on every lap but I just couldn’t find one.  Yesterday in practice I was faster by half a second because I had a good slipstream from one guy and if I had set that time today I would have been 12^th!  But I start in the middle of the pack tomorrow so it will be hard.”

His elder brother, Sanad, faired worse in the DD2 class.  On the opening lap of qualifying he was forced to swerve to avoid a spinning kart and subsequently collided heavily with the barriers.  Naturally disappointed he was thin on words after the impact, briefly stating that “I had nowhere to go.  The guy lost it on a fast left hand corner.  I had to move to the outside where there is no grip, once I had 2 wheels on the grass I was a passenger.”  With his kart badly damaged his mechanics will be working into the night to get it race ready for the first heat tomorrow.  He added “I will start from the back tomorrow, so nothing to lose.  I will go for it and enjoy the race.”

Mohammed Al Dhaheri – also in DD2 – was the star performer of the day qualifying 42^nd overall out of the 72 drivers.  The display means that he will start from the middle of the field in the first race.  He said “I am pleased with today.  42^nd may sound like a poor result, but I was only 1 second behind 1^st place.  This is how close it is in qualifying. The race is something else.  Hopefully I will not be hit off in the first corner, once I am through that then I will make many places I am sure of it.”

Both Oliver George and Maurits Knopjes have been exceptionally quick in the practice stages but both men struggled comparatively in qualifying.  They opted to go down the same set up path with the engine and that has clearly proved to be the wrong direction.  The drivers will revert to the previous engine configurations for tomorrow’s first race knowing that the only way is up.

Martin Fullard 

Mohammed Al Dhaheri – the highest placed qualifier