In the blocks for the final laps

CREDIT: The writer is the communications manager at Dubai Autodrome llc.

For four times a year, the Dubai Kartdrome closes its doors to the public to allow the running of the Dubai Kartdrome Endurance Championship driven by Mini.

The series has run since 2005 and is a mainstay of the local motorsport calendar. This year’s edition started with a 24-hour race in March followed by a couple of 12-hour races – one in May and the other over the last weekend – with the grand finale set for December.

The concept is pretty simple: teams of anything between three and eight drivers tackle these endurance races and at the end of either 12 or 24 hours the team completing the most laps wins. Within the race there are three main categories: one for the so-called Pro teams, one for Corporates and another dubbed the Nations Cup.

Simple? On paper, yes, but in truth no.

I like to call these races ‘extreme forms of motorsport’ because that is exactly what they are. For the duration of each race several major factors influence how a team will do and how they perform. Invariably, the stamina, fitness, concentration, consistency, speed strategy and, most importantly, team work are tested to the limit. Fine management and maximization of these elements is crucial to a good result.

The field is made up of thirty something teams; thus the competition is fierce throughout the grid. Each race tends to attract newcomers, but the usual suspects who have been contesting for years - many since its inception almost a decade ago — are the ones to be found at the sharp end of proceedings.

In 2012 there was an influx of new teams, including the Alpha Racing Team made of drivers sourced from Alpha magazine’s pool of readers. Their debut had four readers and a support crew from the magazine’s staff. By the end of their first 12 hours, the fatigue was visible on all team members, but the spark in their eyes was glowing bright. They will be back stronger and more determined. According to reports, there was overwhelming response from readers to be part of the team.

Many teams have come and gone, arriving on the scene with delusions only to be sent packing after a solid whipping, never to return. Many others got the bug and have returned for every race after their debuts.

The reality is that teams who set the pace are among the best in the world. Batelco are the reigning champions, current championship leaders and winners of the past weekend’s 12 hours lap. They are also acknowledged as one of the top endurance leisure karting teams, being frequent winners on the international stage.

The Dubai Falcon Racing Team — which features the UAE’s top kart drivers, including Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Mohammad Al Mutawa and Saeed Al Muhairi — are also used to international success. They are currently second in the championship and need to win the final round in December to have a chance to topple Batelco.

Apart from these two giants, there are a number of teams who have upped their game and are snapping at their heels including Timeless Events Racing, the UAE Arrow Racing Team, Rotax Masters and the like.

The reputation of the endurance races at the Dubai Kartdrome is such that overseas teams have been lured to compete for the big prize. Just about every country has been represented over the years. Of late teams from Russia and Belgium have shown the most ambition, bringing over their top young kart drivers to challenge the establishment.

They have come close, most notably in 2007, when the late Christophe Hissette — acknowledged as one of the best ever drivers in this genre of karting — drove a legendary final stint for Batelco, erasing a one minute deficit to reel in the Racing for Russia team and take the lead on the final lap. Hissette claimed victory by less than two seconds — one of the closest 24-hour finishes in history — in a race which has gone down in Kartdrome folklore.

The latest edition was a tough contest between Batelco and Dubai Falcon Racing Team, both team’s leading during the course of the 12 hours. In the end the Bahraini team grabbed victory by a mere 32.541 seconds. This is as close as it gets.

When asked what it took to turn sixth place into victory, the Batelco driver and frequent podium visitor Ramez Azzam replied simply: “Pure team work!”

The spirit of the competition is best summed up by Pierre Choueiri, chairman and CEO of Choueiri Group, who runs two squads in the series and has set the benchmark in the corporate category while seriously challenging the Pro teams.

Used to his teams annexing the top spots in the corporate category, this time around they had to settle for first and third across the finish line.

Choueiri reflected afterwards: “It was a tough race. But we are glad we won, although our target was a 1-2 finish. This did not happen, so congratulations to MBC Action, but also a big well done to our guys who won the Corporate Category. Sometimes being a champion is also knowing how to lose and, importantly, how to bounce back.”