After an extremely busy opening round at Dubai Autodrome a fortnight ago the UAE karting circus travels south to the garden city of Al Ain. Al Ain Raceway is the home of the UAE Rotax MAX Challenge and on Friday 19th October will play host to the second round of the 2012/13 championship.
The DD2 and DD2 Masters class was extremely intense last time out and it is widely expected to be repeated at Al Ain. Sanad Al Rawahi led Maurits Knopjes, Oliver George and Arnaud Bouf across the line in tight formation at the opener, with all 4 drivers covered by little over a second. But with Al Ain Raceway’s fast Grand Finals layout offering plenty of overtaking opportunities there is no telling which order the drivers will cross the line this time. Mohammed Al Dhaheri is expected to join the front row fight as he will be lining up on the grid in a new machine, he’ll be hoping to put last months disappointment behind him. This is certainly going to be the one to watch.
The 125 MAX class is yet again set to be the largest grid with an expected turn out of 25 drivers. Ameer Hassan took the win in Dubai but despite him leading from start to finish there were other contenders not far off the pace. Alexandre Silanine will be looking to score his first ever win in the 125 MAX class after an impressive second place last time out. Piers Pakenham-Walsh was easily one of the quickest MAX’s too and is generally very quick around Al Ain Raceway, he’ll be looking to capitalise on the retirement of rival Abdullah Al Rawahi by walking away with another strong points haul. Al Rawahi himself will be hoping for a turn of luck after he was plagued with mechanical gremlins at the season opener. Kevin Day, who also classifies as a Master, was a front running driver at Dubai and it remains to be seen whether that was simply a flash in the pan or indeed he is a genuine title contender, the latter is tipped as the reality.
There are 6 125 Junior MAX drivers expected to line up on the grid next Friday and Pasqual Pook will be looking to romp to a maximum points score after the disappointment of a penalty that dropped him from second to third last time out. Tom Bale is still not a confirmed entry, but if he does turn up as a late entrant then expect a close run race. Guilio Peroni will be hoping to capitalise on his new found form and will be intent on scoring another strong podium finish. At round 1 he was reeling in the leaders in the dying laps and demonstrated race winning pace.
Mini MAX and Micro MAX will again run together in tandem. At the last race there were troubles with the race starts with the pole sitting driver failing to negotiate the formation lap at a steady pace and approaching the start too fast. The officials will be making extra efforts to ensure the starts are improved for the Al Ain round. Alain Bauwmans took the win in Dubai, with Ivan Berets second, after benefitting from a collision between Zachary Robertson and Tehmur Chohan who were both running first and second at the time.
Round 2 will be an opportunity for the Mini MAX drivers to showcase their abilities once more. Sem Knopjes claimed maximum Micro MAX points in round 1 and will be looking to repeat his triumph with another scalp at Al Ain Raceway. It is however the home circuit of rival Sachio Kekati and he will be looking to make big leaps in the points table. Yusuf Moola will also be looking to put the disappointment of round 1 behind him and aim to finish the race.
The Honda Challenge also returns for another instalment. The 5 round series runs alongside the RMC at the Al Ain Raceway rounds. Always a close run thing the HC is an ideal stepping stone towards real competitive karting and open to anyone aged 16 and over.
Finally, round 2 sees the introduction of the Bambino class. The small class is an unknown quantity with a selection of über-young drivers taking to the time trial competition for the first time. It will be worth while watching how the youngsters get on as one.
Practice sessions are due to start at around 10am with racing expected to kick off after the Friday sermon. If you have nothing else to do on Friday then come down to Al Ain Raceway, the oasis of racing, and follow the all action live.
