Dubai:
An elite collection of Dubai Kartdrome’s finest racers will represent the UAE on the world stage at the Racing Kart de Cormeilles (RKC) near Paris Thursday to determine the top Sodi World Series (SWS) drivers and teams.
More than 20 UAE residents will be part of the 250 kart racers from across five continents in the race to become the SWS 2016 international champion.
They will be accompanied by Dubai Kartdrome’s David Bright, a former UAE karting champion, and a two-time European endurance kart champion. He will offer his wealth of international karting experience to help steer the Dubai competitors towards success in France.
“I am very confident in this UAE group as some of them, such as Alex Connor and Paul Chatenay, are returning after impressive performances in last year’s SWS World Final,” said Bright.
The racers will compete across three different categories. The two sprint categories are split into the Sprint Cup for individuals aged 15 and above, and the Junior Cup, for drivers aged 11 to 14. Additionally, the endurance category, the Endurance Cup, is challenged by teams whose drivers are 15 years and older.
Local kart stars Rami Azzam, Abigail Birch, Paul Chatenay, Hussain Umid Ali, Anjum Shaikh, Maz Nawaz and Allan Khoury will all compete for the Sprint Cup, while the Junior Cup will be contested by Oliver Walton, Seif Al Naggar, Alex Connor and Kamal Agha.
Two Dubai teams, CG Pro and Dubai Falcons, will compete in the 12-hour endurance race to decide the Endurance Cup.
David Bright envisages great success for Dubai in the endurance race and commented: “I am expecting both teams to be on the podium, given the fact that in previous years’ they have run at the sharp end of the pack. They both display excellent teamwork and strategy, and I rate their drivers as some of the best endurance racers in the world.
“The main difficulty I foresee is the chance of rain, to which many of our racers are, of course, not accustomed. I hope we bring a bit of Dubai sunshine with us to France.”
The 2016 SWS World Finals take place at Racing Kart de Cormeilles, France from July 7 to 9.
