Dubai: Dubai karting team CG Racing finished second in the 500 Miles Endurance Cup at the Sodi World Finals in Le Mans, France, at the weekend.
They were one of four GCC-based outfits to have qualified for the 40-team event via last year’s Dubai Kartdrome Endurance Championship driven by Mini. Batelco Racing of Bahrain — who currently lead this year’s Dubai series — finished fourth and Dubai Falcon Racing finished 10th, followed by CG Racing II, who finished 38th.
French outfit Ask Performance 360 won by a mere 3.140 seconds ahead of CG Racing with CER Karting, also from France, finishing third.
Elsewhere, six of the top drivers from last year’s Dubai Kartdrome SWS Sprint Series were selected to represent the UAE in the 80-strong Sodi World Finals Sprint Grand Prix.
At the end of four races Moeen Al Sarraj was the highest-ranked UAE driver, finishing 20th, ahead of Abdullah Al Ali in 29th, Sam Zian in 30th, Ali Al Mansoori in 33rd, Ali Hussain Umid in 38th and Atef Al Barwani in 43rd.
Germany’s Marcel Prokscha won the event ahead of Belgium’s Simon Delvenne and Great Britain’s Piers Prior.
Meanwhile, in the Junior Grand Prix of the Sodi World Finals, Dubai’s Mansour Al Sarraj and Hannah Logan finished 16th and 17th respectively in the 20-strong field after four races. Russia’s Michael Belov topped the standings ahead of French duo Bastien Flahaut and Erwann Varlet.
“Once again our teams and drivers did the UAE proud as they proved that the local scene is on par with international standards,” said Kartdrome manager Ryan Trutch. “We go home proud of what we achieved as a collective and believe that we impressed our rivals not only with the speed shown by UAE-based competitors but also the enthusiasm and sporting spirit we showed throughout the weekend.”
