Batelco win Motorcity 24 Hours at the Kartdrome

Batelco team celebrate on the podium after winning the Motorcity 24 Hours

02 April, 2011

The first Motorcity 24 Hours race of the 2011 season was won in fine style this afternoon (2 April) by reigning champions Batelco at the Kartdrome. The Bahraini team notched up 1155 laps on their way to a resounding victory over second placed Dubai Falcon Racing and Ocean Rubber Racing finishing third.

It was Batelco’s fourth win in a row in Dubai, their run of 24 hours endurance victories starting last year in March. This time around they had new drivers in their line-up including Dubai teenager Edward Jones who was a revelation in his first ever 24 hours race at the Kartdrome, setting the fastest lap in his debut. Also in the team were Alban Varutti, Ramez Azzam, Ali Hassan, Osama Al Sadd, Yousef Mohseni, Ahmed Zainal, Ale Eid and Mohammed Attiya.

Team manager Ali Abbas was emotional at the end as he praised the team effort from the Batelco squad, “Firstly as always we remember our friend Christophe Hissette who was part of our team. His spirit is always with us when we race here.”

He added, “I am very proud and pleased with our team effort. We stuck to our game plan and despite a couple of black flags which cost us time we still managed to win. I think the other teams reacted to our strategy which gave us the upper hand, we managed to control the pace for most of the 24 hours. I am very, very proud.

Varutti said afterwards, “We had a good kart and we made few mistakes and that’s racing. Also the other drivers did a great race, we were always consistent and we had new drivers in our team who proved to be very good. It is very good to start the championship by winning.”

Dubai Falcon Racing Team were constantly a threat, especially in the early stages of the race where they managed to keep the eventual winners in sight. The team boasted a foridable line-up including Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Mohammed Al Mutawaa, Saeed Al Mehairi, Roberto Pesevski and lady racer Fabienne Lanz. Second place was their reward for a gritty display.

Ocean Rubber’s captain Paul Chatenay summed up his team’s race after the podium ceremony where he collected the third place trophy, “We did not have the drivers to match the two top teams, instead we were consistent. We could have done even more with the strategy and maybe the two black flags played against us. Nevertheless third place in this event is a good result. We are happy.”

In the fiercely fought Corporate Category, Choueiri Group Racing took top honours after a race long duel with Publicis Group Racing and OMD Racing team. The three teams slugged it out night and day, but in the final stages the Choueiri team was in control.

There was nothing to separate Publicis and OMD as they battled it out for the runner-up position. With an hour left to go they were running nose to tail. In the end it was a grand stand finish with Publicis squeezing ahead to take second place with OMD Racing having to settle for third place.

CG Racing team owner Pierre Choueiri said afterwards, “We did not get a great start and were lagging behind early on but we never stopped believing. We fought back during the night and I am very proud of my team. We set the targets for this race and we achieved them. Our goal now is to win the corporate category of the endurance championship.”

Jean Louis Hissette, on behalf of the organisers, presented Forza RS Russia with a special prize to the best placed international team (excluding the GCC) for their impressive drive to fifth place overall.

Race Result Overview

Download Race Results PDF:
• Official Overall • By Class • Lap-by-lap

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