Dubai: Hussain Umid Ali and reigning champion Atef Al Barwani won a race apiece at the second round of the 2014 SWS Sprint Series at the Dubai Kartdrome on Sunday.
Ali, who will represent the UAE at the SWS World Finals at Le Mans in May, was in blistering form to take the Seniors’ RX7 race one win from pole-sitter Ali Al Mansouri and third-placed youngster Hashim Vahedna. Fourth was Al Barwani, who is another SWS World Finals qualifier, with Maz Nawaz fifth and Dubai schoolboy Tom Bale sixth on his debut.
Race two saw Al Barwani show his quality with a comfortable win. Behind him Bale fought off Al Mansouri and Ali, with just half a second separating second from fourth. George Gibbons was fifth, with 2013 SWS World Finals runner-up Paul Chatenay finding his form to take sixth. Adrian Jones took home the best rookie award.
Earlier, Alex Connor scored his first win in the Junior LR4 series by taking top honours in race one and following up with second in race two.
SWS World Finals qualifier Mansour Sarraj bounced back from fourth place in the first race to win race two by a comfortable margin, while Sam Garbutt took home two trophies for finishing second in race one and third in race two.
Kamal Agha was third in race one, with Luis Velasco taking home the best novice trophy for his efforts on the night.
The UAE edition of the SWS Sprint Series counts towards the international ranking, with the top drivers qualifying for the SWS World Finals in 2015. Round three of the 2014 series takes place at the Kartdrome on March 3.
