UAE RMC round 12 press release

The twelfth round of the UAE Rotax MAX Challenge witnessed some truly remarkable racing, with some class championships looking all the more definitive. Oliver George has moved one step closer to pinching the DD2 crown after his nearest rival, Sanad Al Rawahi, retired on the last lap with a transmission failure. George, who went on to finish second behind a rampant Arnaud Bouf, only needs to finish the race tomorrow to take the title.

Philippe Valenza all but sealed the 125 MAX title after finishing in second place behind his nearest rival, Abdullah Al Rawahi. Al Rawahi dominated the day’s proceedings scoring a hat-trick of wins; however he goes into tomorrow knowing that his title hopes are remote. Alexandre Silanine was all but out of the running after an incident with Rami Azzam forced him into retirement. Azzam himself was to retire from third place after colliding with a stray barrier, a result of a preceding incident. Duncan Foster inherited third place, to add to his Masters class honours.

In the 125 Junior MAX class, Pasqual Pook had a trouble free day and went on to win the final in impressive fashion. Guilio Peroni held off Sebastian Seeling in the dying stages for second place. Pook now only has to get to the finish line tomorrow to win the title.

Tehmur Chohan narrowly held off Alain Bauwmans and Ivan Berets in a thrilling Mini MAX finale. Chohan led from lap one after having passed both Berets and Yahya Houston. Bauwmans followed him through and they raced nose to tail throughout. Chohan is looking very good to win the series.

Ziggy Kermanshahchi took top honours in the Micro MAX class after series leader Sem Knopjes was involved in a collision with rival Yusuf Moola. Kermanshahchi, who is not in the title race, crossed the line victorious after suffering a heavy collision earlier in the day. Theo Kekati scored his best ever result with a hard-fought second place. Despite his crash, Knopjes has enough points to his name to be comfortable in the title race.

Gaia Eichenberger was the fastest Bambino driver, proving that girls can compete and do well in what is a male-dominated sport. Ethan Walsh was the second fastest ahead of series leader Georgie Zouein.

Round 13 will take place on Saturday at Al Ain Raceway, with on-track action commencing at 10:30am.

Martin Fullard