Al Ain: The UAE Rotax Max Challenge season kicked off at Al Ain Raceway on Friday, with Giulio Peroni getting his 125 Max campaign off to the perfect start. The young Italian led the final from pole, closely pursued by former Junior Max champion Pasqual Pook as well as Abdullah Al Rawahi, Ahmed Al Khamisi, and Fraser Rose.
Pook made several attempts to pass Peroni, but was unable to hold the lead. In a decisive move, Peroni left a gap on the inside into turn one which Pook routinely seized. Peroni was able to retake the lead instantly with an undercut and remained at the front, albeit under intense pressure, to open his account with maximum points. The top five drivers were covered by only eight tenths of a second when they crossed the finish line.
The Micro Max class started with a bang, literally, as a red flag halted the race after seven laps. A number of karts were involved in an incident at the far end of the circuit, although none were injured. The result was declared and it was Georgie Zouein who was awarded the win. Alex Connor was classified second and Mohammad Al Habsi third.
There was further drama in the Mini Max class when a first corner accident prematurely ended the races of Jamie Day and Lachlan Robinson, who had started second and first. Liam Crystal was caught up in the chaos and was demoted to the back of the field. Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, a 1:01.998, there was little more he could do.
It played into the hands of Hamda Al Qubaisi and Shihab Al Habsi. The two young drivers traded lap times while bumper-to-bumper, with Al Habsi crossing the line victorious after seizing the lead two corners from the end. The margin was a slender 0.025 seconds. However a stewards inquiry saw Al Habsi demoted to second and Al Qubaisi was crowned the winner. Sem Knopjes was third.
In the DD2 gearbox class, Abdullah Al Rawahi (who was also racing in the 125 Max class) took a convincing win ahead of local hero Hussain Umid Ali. While Ali could have seized the lead on several occasions in the latter stages, he was occupied by the fight with international driver Emanuele Pagani.
Pagani had dominated the day and led the final early on until Al Rawahi muscled past. Ali then pounced in the dying laps to demote Pagani to third. The European racer fought hard to regain the lead but it was not to be. Only 0.910 seconds covered the top three at the chequered flag.
Junior Max was a breathless thriller with two separate races taking shape. Positions one to six and seven to twelve fought nose to tail in train formation. Taymour Kermanshahchi, the early leader, and Khalid Al Wahaibi fought toughly with one another until a skirmish saw that they would finish fifth and sixth respectively.
Alain Bauwmans came off best after demonstrating some bold moves to take a popular win ahead of Lucas Petersson. With only a hair’s breadth between the top six, it was anyone’s race. Jakob Robinson crossed the line third ahead of a hard-charging Tehmur Chohan. Bauwmans heads the championship and he carries that momentum into his local race in a fortnight’s time.
The next race takes place at Al Forsan International Sports Resort in Abu Dhabi on Friday, October 30.
125 Max result 1 Giulio Peroni 2 Pasqual Pook 3 Fraser Rose
Micro Max result 1 Georgie Zouein 2 Alex Connor 3 Mohammad Al Habsi
Mini Max result 1 Hamda Al Qubaisi 2 Shihab Al Habsi 3 Sem Knopjes
DD2 result 1 Abdullah Al Rawahi 2 Hussain Umid Ali 3 Emanuele Pagani
Junior Max result 1 Alain Bauwmans 2 Lucas Petersson 3 Jakob Robinson