24 January 2010
DAMC & RMC Karting Championships with SWS Sprint Races
Knopjes, Engineer and Bale take victories in the finals

The combined DAMC Karting Championship (Round 4) and Rotax Max Challenge (Round 5) took place at the Kartdrome on Friday 22 January 2010. Also on the bill was the increasingly popular SWS Sprint Races for leisure karters.

Max Seniors: Knopjes and Latham steal the show
With the absence of Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum from the top level category it was evident that the race day would be a battle between Scott Latham and Maurits Knopjes, and so it turned out to be. Latham was in top form and went quickest in qualifying before nothing up wins in the Heat and Pre-Final, with Knopjes playing second fiddle. However in the final Knopjes, took the win, turning the tables on Latham, who appeared to have problems with the carburetor on his kart and despite a late charge was forced to accept second place.

Best of the rest was Karan Rallan who was third all day long. In the RMC Masters Andrew Fuller was unbeatable qualifyinh on pole and winning all three races including the final.

Max Juniors: Engineer and Jones slug it out
Although the Max Juniors class fails to attract big fields, it does feature two of the best young junior drivers in the world. Rotax (UAE) boss Antonio Kekati commented while watching the race, “Edward Jones is one of the best junior kart drivers in Rotax. In the world finals in Egypt he qualified on pole and won heats. He had bad luck in the world Final for juniors when he was victim of some over aggressive driving, but he certainly made his mark.” In the UAE his arch rival is young Dubai based Shahaan Engineer and watching the two battle it out has become a highlight of the season. There is nothing to separate them as they circulate in tandem waiting to pounce should one give an inch.

Jones was fastest in qualifying, but Engineer crossed the line ahead of Jones in the Heat but was docked ten seconds due to a start infringement. This failed to deter the youngster who bounced back to win the Pre-Final and Final with Jones glued to his bumper. Piers Pakenham Walsh had the best seat in the house watching the two ahead slug it out, finishing third in all three races.

In the DD2 Class, which ran with the Max Seniors, Mohammed Al Dhaheri was the class of the field dominating all three races.

Cadets Class: No stopping Tom Bale
For some time now Tom Bale has ruled the Cadets Class and things remained pretty much the same as he again dominated from qualifying through to the final. The runner-up slot all day went to Cyrus Engineer who has shown the biggest improvement since he entered this class. Pascal Pook was third best in all three races.

SWS Sprint Races: Paul Chatenay takes two
Experienced French karter Paul Chatenay only managed to qualify in sixth place for the first SWS Sprint Race. Ahead of him were a formidable bunch of drivers including Luca Cima who qualified on pole, with Haytham Sultan sharing the front row. Behind them were the likes of UAE Touring Car ace Sam Zian, Rafaelle Delorenzi and media duo Phll Tromans and Rami Joudi.

Early on the battle at the front was fierce, but Chatenay managed to battle his way to the front and soon started putting in some very rapid laps which saw him edge away from the pack tussling for second place. At the end of the first heat it was Chatenay who took the chequered by a good margin of over four seconds. Zian was second after a race long duel with Delorenzi who finished third. Cima’s race was compromised when his kart appeared to have problems.

Drive of the race would have to go to Patrick Jarjour who took fifth place in the race after starting way down the field in 15th.

Chatenay took full advantage of his pole position for the second race and was off into the lead, again leaving the rest to battle for second place in his wake. This time it was Zian, Delorenzi and Sultan slugging it out with the Enirati driver, Sultan, taking second place at the finish with Delorenzi and Zian tucked into his slipstream, settling for third and fourth respectively.

Once again the SWS Sprint Races added spice to the DAMC & RMC race day proceedings with a full field and top notch racing throughout the field.

• Results DAMC Rd4 & RMC Rd5     • Results SWS Sprint Races