- Sodi drivers and staff make their mark at Kartdrome 24 Hours race
- Terrien, Fraisse, Pakenham-Walsh, Azzam, Varley, Rose in action
Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum led the Dubai Falcon Racing Team to a deserved victory at the Dubai Kartdrome 24 Hours and with it claimed the 2015 Kartdrome Endurance Championship Driven by Mini, on a day which also saw the all-Emirati team Mini Dubai take top honours in the Nations Cup and CG Racing take home the Corporate Championship trophy.
Dubai Falcons – with Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Saeed Al Mehairi, Steve Lyall, Sam Zian and Ali Al Mansoori on driving duty, managed by Hadi Al Bloushi – powered to a well calculated victory in a race which saw them in a battle with several teams throughout the course of the 24 hours, but in the end they notched up 1137 laps, taking the chequered flag one lap ahead of quadruple champions Batelco in second, and last year’s champions CG Racing Pro a mere 9 seconds adrift in third.
Globcom Flame were contenders throughout the race, and were rewarded with fourth place overall for their efforts.
Winning Dubai Falcons team manager Hadi Al Bloushi said: “This is really a great moment for us. This was a tough race with some very strong competitors and to finish on top is a big achievement for our team. Big thanks to all our supporters, and we dedicate this title Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and thank him for for his support which helps make this happen.”
Fifth overall were the all-Russian Parovoz RT Forza team, who did enough to claim the prestigious Nations Cup trophy on the day, with ENOC-NH8 and Mini Dubai seventh which was enough for the all-Emirati team to clinch the 2015 Nations Cup title.
Team manager Mohammed Al Ghurair was full of praise for his drivers Abdulla Al Ali, Ali Al Najjar, Hussain Umid Ali and Haytham Sultan, and said afterwards, “This was all about team work. Our drivers stuck to the game plan and in the end there is no I in teamwork.”
“See you at the SWS Finals in Paris” concluded Al Ghurair, alluding to the fact that the 2015 Kartdrome Endurance Champions get an automatic entry to the SWS Grand Finals which take place every year in France, where the top SWS Endurance teams from around the world battle it out for the top prize in international leisure karting.
Also decided on the day was the Corporate Championship, claimed by CG Racing 2 thanks to class victory in this the fourth and final round, where they finished eighth, but decisively ahead of the their main Corporate rivals Team Emirates.
CG Racing team boss Pierre Choueiri said, “What a relief! It was too close where everything that could happen… happened. CG Racing 2 did their job perfectly. They were consistent, their kart was okay. It’s beautiful.”
“Today we scored first in the Corporate category, second in the Pro category and Nations Cup third. Well done to the boys, it’s podium all over again,” added Choueiri.
Thus the fourth and final round of the 2015 edition of the Kartdrome Endurance Championship was concluded, with the big winners being Dubai Falcon Racing Team and the final word goes to team captain Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, “2015 Kartdrome Endurance Champions sounds very good. We managed to win the final race of the series and with it the championship. The team have done really a great job from the start of the race until the end.”
“As usual it was not easy, as the competition has always been strong but finally I feel very pleased that we won. A reward for the hard work put in by everyone connected to our team,” concluded Sheikh Hasher.
Kartdrome Endurance Championship 24 Hours, Round 4 Results
Overall & Pro Category:
- Dubai Falcon Racing Team
- Batelco
- CG Racing
Corporate Category:
- CG Racing 2
- Team Emirates
- Energy Karts Worldwide
Nations Cup:
- Parovoz RT Forza
- ENOC-NH8
- Mini Dubai
Newbie Trophy: Energy Karts Worldwide
Spirit of the Championship Award: 7 Flags Al Nahyan Racing Team
Note: Sodi RX7 karts are used for the Kartdrome Endurance Championship driven by Mini