Abu Dhabi: Rashid Al Daheri overcame one of the toughest fields in junior international karting with a stunning performance to win the fourth edition of the Trofeo Adria Raceway in Italy.
The nine-year-old triumphed over a field of over 50 international drivers in the Mini Class, aged between 8-12, the majority of whom were from the top Italian junior categories and the prestigious WSK championship.
After two days of practice and testing, the Abu Dhabi schoolboy signalled his intent early by claiming pole position in qualifying on a hot track that made conditions challenging and careful tyre management essential thanks to an over-abundance of grip.
In the pre-final, Al Daheri started from pole position but dropped a place early on. However, towards the end of the eight-lap race, he was in hot pursuit of the leader, waiting patiently for the right moment to make his move. On the final lap he attacked, with a gutsy overtake and from there was unchallenged to the flag.
Despite a strong showing all weekend, Al Daheri kept his best performance for the final. He started in the lead, but his kart was running slowly as the race began and he was overtaken early on in the first lap. However his engine recovered and he was able to quickly reclaim pole position. For the remainder of the race, he built a solid gap over his rivals and despite a yellow flag in the final laps, which slowed him considerably, he held on to first place fairly comfortably.
“In the final, the start was really important. So I focused to get a good start and then concentrated on maintaining a gap. I am really happy, it was a fun weekend and I was proud to be on the podium with the UAE national anthem playing,” said a jubilant Al Daheri.
Babyrace Driver Academy’s team manager Sandro Lorandi, speaking about the triumph, said, “Stellar racing from Rashid in one of his toughest races yet. He made a perfect start in qualifying and, despite the heat, he raced with maturity and intelligence, both in terms of race tactics and managing his tyres. In the final, he also showed his awareness by slowing down for the yellow flag period, but never lost his lead.”
