Karim Al Azhari showed why he’s defending champion after sealing a double victory in the second round of the TRD 86 Cup on Saturday.
The German, who achieved first and eighth-placed spots in the two races back in October, put on two fine drives at Yas Marina Circuit.
The 42-year-old clocked 21:30.839 minutes in race one, nearly 12 seconds faster than second-placed Shihab Al Faheem and third-placed Ahmed Al Melaihi. He was back on the top step of the podium again, going even faster in race two.
With the grid reversed as per the competition’s rules, Al Azhari started the second race in eighth position. But he showed his experience, racing past his rivals to cross the line first. His time of 21:27.770 minutes was enough to hold off Al Melaihi and Mohammed Abdul Ghaffer, who had to settle for second and third places respectively.
After being left disappointed by his own performance in the first round, Al Azhari was delighted to get back to winning ways.
“It was certainly a challenging day for the drivers but it feels great to have won two races,” he said. “The first race was very good but as always the second race is even harder. With the reverse grid, that puts a lot of pressure on the drivers and that meant I had to work even harder to get past the other drivers. Overall it was a strong performance and I am excited for the next round.”
He will be looking to continue his form when the third round of the competition resumes in March at Dubai Autodrome. But he feels the rest of the drivers will need to up their game if they want to get their hands on his trophy.
“I’ve been racing quite a lot and I’m reaching the top,” he said. “The competitors will really have their hands full of trying to keep up with me. My speed and knowledge will make it a tough challenge for the competitiors.”
Al Faheem was satisfied after describing both races as “very challenging”.
“It was quite tough out there on the track but I did okay because it was very challenging,” he said, having finished fourth in race two. “I feel the car could’ve gone a bit faster as it was slower than before but I know I need to put in a lot of practice on the track to be in contention for the title.”
