UAE Rotax MAX Challenge round 4 RACE REPORT
It is very likely that when you got home last night you were asked by those around you how your day was, and depending on who you actually are I fear that the regular outsider may have been easily confused. Some day’s were just meant to be bad ones, look at Kevin Day for example, fired off twice and flipped over once. What about the poor mouse that gave its life in the name of karting? On the other hand some days are great, take a look at Xen De Ruwe, he won everything. And what about Denis Fernandez, he ran out of space in the till. Some people will have left Al Ain Raceway yesterday in elated mood having walked away with a trophy, some people left lamenting a bad day’s result and some people left without paying their bill. There was one factor, however, that everyone shared, and that was that they all left Al Ain totally sodden.
As tempting as it is to start rhyming “Al Ain†with “rainâ€, I shall do no such thing and instead talk about what happened yesterday during one of the most chaotic RMC meetings in recent memory, well, for the older drivers anyway, the children got away with it.
The Bambino drivers were all denied a chance to play in puddles as again they went out there all trying to set the fastest lap time. The form of the Bambino drivers fluctuates a bit with some drivers 2-3 seconds faster in their second time trial session than in their first. But, as I don’t want parents to start fighting with each other, I will not invoke competition, ok, well I’m kind of forced to a little bit. Georgie Zouein was the fastest Bambino driver of all setting a best lap of 1:36.335 ahead of Jamie Day overall who set a best time of 1:38.751 and Theo Kekati who set a 1:38.872. There were also some decent times from Ethan Walsh whose best was a 1:39.974. There wasn’t much to separate the rest either with Gaia Eichenberger and her curious exhaust setting a 1:40.052 in the second session, then a string of 1:43’s from both Saqir Al Qassemi and Hamish Foster. Kris Knopjes, who hasn’t had as much experience around Al Ain Raceway as the others set a best time of 1:52 but certainly proved that he is one of the best overtakers. Keep it up, kids.
It was to be the last race meeting in the UAE RMC Mini MAX class for Zachary Robertson and he, like anyone else would, wanted to go out in style. He did just that with a fine win but only after a one-on-one duel with Alain Bauwmans who had led the first half of the race. Initially the race was in typical Mini MAX style, with all 4 drivers lined up in a train and trading places with each other. Once Zach broke through from the back two races quickly developed, the former versus Alain for first place, and Tehmur Chohan versus Ivan Berets for third. You know what happened between Zach and Alain because I gave it away about 3 sentences ago, but Tehmur and Ivan’s scrap was no less exciting. Try as he did Ivan couldn’t find a way by so would settle for fourth with Tehmur taking the final podium spot. The 5th Mini MAX driver – Alyzee Pelegry – was sadly eliminated on the formation lap.
Now, we all know that Sem Knopjes has been running away with the Micro MAX class this year, and perhaps it is foolish to expect his dominance to continue unchallenged. That’s why I am a fool and expected exactly that. His dad will tell him that nothing is won until the race is finished, but sadly for Sem he didn’t even take the start. I’d be lying if I said I saw what happened, but poor Sem ended up in the barriers on the formation lap and was unable to continue. His early exit allowed Yusuf Moola to start alone on the front row of the grid. He intended to lead and lead he did but there was no time for complacency, Sachio Kekati was keeping him in check. Both Yusuf and Sachio lapped identical times, both setting a best time of 1:15.8 but the positions never changed. Yusuf, then, went on to take a win ahead of Sachio in second place. Of course, there are 3 steps on a podium and occupying that final, treasured place was Tara Eichenberger. The young Swiss girl racer finished 10 seconds behind Sachio and her best lap time was only 8 tenths off. It’s not a bad effort from someone who has only driven two races.
Pasqual Pook, under the guidance of Keiran Crawley, has been the dominant driver in the Junior MAX class this year. Pasqual seems to be one of those drivers who drives fast enough to win but at the slowest possible speed, meaning that he never breaks a sweat. All was going well yesterday too; it was a case of standard operating procedure. There was Pasqual leading in his typical way when all of a sudden something went wrong and he started driving, like, really slowly. Anyway, there was some mechanical beef that appeared only temporary but the intermittent drama had allowed Taymour Kermanshahchi to power through to first place. Taymour can score points from the next round, I think, so he will doubtlessly be hoping to repeat his feat going forward. Despite his problem, Pasqual slotted home second but still leads the championship by a certain amount of points.
Guilio Peroni did actually cross the line in third place…but. He was given a time penalty because he crossed the tram lines before the lights went out at the start. On the approach to the grid – in second – he was looking at Pasqual, not ahead of him, so drifted out of the lines. It got worse; he then shared a racing collision with Taymour at the first corner and dropped to last. Despite the bump and the penalty and subsequent demotion to 5th place, Guilio – who is also looked after by Kieran Crawley – proved that he can race. From last place he fought hard to get back to third, but it’s a case of better luck next time, and look forward at the start.
Tejas Hirani, with mouse blood on his hands, benefitted from the aforementioned penalty and was promoted to third place. New to the track, the result was particularly satisfying since he had experienced several problems in testing on the days leading up to the race. One driver that did catch a lot of people’s attention was Sebastian Seeling. He had the best race of his short career after battling with Tejas and Guilio for the final podium spot. He crossed the line 5th – before being promoted to 4th – only 1 tenth behind Tejas. Antoine Pelegry was also not too far back in 6th. He too is getting closer.
The Junior MAX race brought an end to the day’s dry running as the 125 MAX class set off on their formation lap under grey skies. With the track still dry, Ameer Hassan lead the field but after lap 4, pandemonium ensued and all hell broke loose. Ameer was the first to crack as the rain got heavier and binned it at that corner where Marshal Post 5 is. Then someone else spun, then someone else, then someone else, then someone else, then someone else, then that other guy again, then someone else, then someone else…are you with me?
Through all intents and purposes it was absolutely hilarious, watching the humbled MAX and Master drivers spin, slither and slide off all over the place, even to parts of the track we didn’t even know existed. Hubris went out of the window, as did any rational prediction of the outcome, it was a total lottery. Abdulla Al Rawahi was one of only about two drivers who didn’t stack it at some point. After inheriting the lead he slid his way around the track better than most and after what seemed like an eternity crossed the line a winner. Steve Lyall, who was on loan to the UAE from the UK, showed that living in wet, miserable England does indeed have its advantages. Steve and his sunglasses gave it the beans in the treacherous conditions but he couldn’t quite catch the skinny Omani up front and finished second, 9 seconds behind.
Duncan Foster was the third man who crossed the start line puddle, but he so nearly crossed the desert instead. Let’s just say he was in fourth place coming out of the last corner, was faster than the driver in third, got by but was unceremoniously assaulted. Still, Aussie grit prevailed and not only did he make it across the start puddle third, but he was also the first in the Masters class. Piers Pakenham-Walsh spent most of the race laughing to himself as he pirouetted here, there and everywhere and crossed the puddle fifth ahead of Mohammed Al Mutawaa. As far as the Masters were concerned, Walid Al Qassemi was second – 9th overall – and Raed Hassan third in class and 10th overall. However, for complicated and confusing reasons, in the podium presentation photograph Walid has lost maybe about 40 years and 4ft, and Raed looks distinctively like Jules Odulate…
In summary, don’t ask what happened out there because even those participating wouldn’t remember. Let the final words be about Kevin Day; after being wiped out in the heat, flipped over in the pre final and then being wiped out earlier in the final, he seemed pleased that he ended the final on his own terms, with the kart stuck in the gravel and standing by the side of the track having a chat with a soggy Clerk. You can only have one day that bad.
After the 125 MAX debacle, the officials went around jumping in puddles and stroking their chins sagely as they decided what was to be done about the DD2’s. You see, everyone was on slick tyres and there aren’t any wet tyres in the UAE, it would be a false economy to stock them. It was then debated whether the DD2 drivers were men enough to deal with the wet conditions. With the obvious exception of Patrick Jarjour and his pet beard, the officials did deem the drivers man enough and the race was soon underway. It was agreed that the start would be single file and that no overtaking would be permitted until the exit of the first corner, which was actually the third corner, because we were doing that funny corner thing.
Anyway, seasoned European racing superstar Xen De Ruwe, from Belgium, Europe, led the field, instantly showing why he is as accomplished as he is. Oliver George was holding second, Mohammed Al Dhaheri was going too fast, spinning, crashing, repeating, and Sanad Al Rawahi appeared to be driving through the puddles – oceans by this stage – just for fun. Truth be told, Oli was the most impressive driver on track as in the second half of the race he set fastest lap after fastest lap catching Xen corner by corner. It was an intense finish with Xen taking a tremendously hard earned win, but Oli had got the gap down to 1.4 seconds, two laps longer and he could have nabbed the lead. Sanad was third but insisted on driving through the Pacific Ocean that had pooled at turn 1 every lap, maybe he was too hot and wanted to cool down? Who knows, he was third and very, very moist. Mohammed was fourth after several spins and somehow set the best lap of 1:42 on the last lap, he was ahead of Hussain Umid Ali.
Hussain is insane at the best of times when it comes to karting, but he really showed how good a driver he actually is. I don’t know how but, you know, I have to be nice. Arnaud Bouf was certainly doing well, but like Sanad he seemed to be just aiming for puddles. It was a well driven race from the Frenchman and he crossed the line first of the Masters. Jonathan Mowatt, driving in an unusually hunched, forward, stance enjoyed a spot of spinning from time to time and finished 2nd of the Masters, with the beard wearing hooligan, Patrick, just behind. It was an interesting experience for Tony Hogg and Edward Stanley as they lapped around trying to keep their karts on the road. Again, it was all wet and wild and impossible to document in Microsoft Word.
The last race of the day was the formidable Honda Challenge. It runs hot and cold, it’s either a cracking race or a disastrous bump fest. In an unusual twist, the Clerk of Microsoft Word gave all the drivers a good grilling and finger wagging after the pre-final antics that saw too much argy bargy. Once all the drivers had dried their eyes it was time for a quick catwalk of all the various clothing examples intended to keep them dry whilst racing. Being a seasoned racing veteran of the UK myself, I can safely say that nothing, not even a £300 wetsuit can keep you dry when karting, but that didn’t stop the Honda drivers from giving it a go. Andreas Flamino wins first prize in the fashion competition with his black bin liner cum waistcoat affair.
As for the race, the self proclaimed “rain-meister†Dan Price started on pole position ahead of Piers Pakenham-Walsh. It was Piers however who turned out to be the real rain-meister as he stuck to the outside of the corners with an armful of opposite lock and slid the 6 miles to victory. He never put a wheel wrong and now leads the Honda Challenge series, and he was 2 seconds faster than anyone else! Dan – who callously blamed his wet weather “tutor†for his failure to win – did actually drive very well, although if the Marshal reports are accurate, spent more time laughing than racing. He was engaged in a superb fight with Atef Al Barwani with both drivers sharing the knocks. However, Atef’s final overtake on Dan at turn 2 was under the control of the yellow light, and as we all know, overtaking under yellows is not allowed and as such Atef was disqualified.
Shah Rashid was promoted up to third place as a result of Atef’s exclusion. Further down the order there was just too much going on to give an accurate account. Carlos Do Vale had some funny moments, so did Moeen Al Sarraj. Hussain Umid Ali finished 6th and poor Chris Coles lost it early on after running somewhere near the front. The biggest drama of the race was the troubles experienced by championship contender Sam Zian. Sporting a stylish yellow fishermans jacket and Al Ain Raceway helmet, Sam was victim of two engine stalls, the first on the opening lap. Water had penetrated his spark plug and that sadly was that. The only consolation was that when he got going – albeit a lap down – he was the fourth fastest kart on track and clearly one of the most capable wet weather drivers in the field. Still, his bad luck this time, maybe someone else’s next time.
With all the brouhaha, this new style race report and the fact that someone keeps watching me in my office to make sure I’m writing this and not updating my Facebook status, I’m not sure if I have missed out any classes, I’m sure you’ll let me know if I have. I’m not sure what takes longer these days, the race day itself or the awards presentation. Anyway, that’s 2012 done with, and on the premise that all this Mayan calendar cobblers is indeed a load of nonsense then we look forward to seeing everyone in 2013.
Thank you to all the drivers, angry mechanics, broke parents, Al Ain Raceway team, volunteer marshals, the weather, the ATCUAE and of course HE Khaled Bin Shaiban. From everyone at Al Ain Raceway we wish those who celebrate Christmas a merry Christmas, for those that don’t, a big thumbs up, but a happy new year to all of you.
Martin Fullard, the wetter.
The Arabian desert…
