The appearance of Jones inspired spirited competition throughout the event and the evening started with the SWS Juniors (ages 7-14) lining up on the Outdoor Circuit at Dubai Kartdrome.
Kamal Agha signalled his intent early on by jumping to the top of the qualifying screens with a best lap time of 1:25.267, a comfortable 1.219 seconds over his closest rival, Patrick Debattista.
Agha started on pole but could not hold the top position, as red-hot Seif Al Naggar stormed through the field from eighth on the grid to take victory in Race One, consigning Agha to second. Danny Shields trailed closely behind in third.
In Race Two, Al Naggar was even better, getting well clear of the rest of the pack and winning by an impressive 6.081 seconds over runner-up, Jad Charafeddine.
When the points from the two races were tallied, it was clear that Al Naggar would claim the top step of the podium for the night, going two for two and maximum points. Agha was the best of the rest, earning him a second place trophy while Charafeddine secured third.
As the Dubai Kartdrome guest of honour for the evening, Ed Jones handed out trophies to the Juniors and then suited up to compete in the highly competitive SWS Senior category (ages 15-34). Qualifying was incredibly close with the top eight drivers finishing within a second of each other. Ramadan Challenge titleholder Rami Azzam edged out his rivals by a mere 0.289 seconds to claim pole.
Jones could only manage sixth place on the grid, but when the starting lights blinked off for Race One, the Brit quickly revealed his imposing driving skills, cutting through the field and taking victory by 0.238 seconds.
The driving in Race Two was even feistier and Jones found himself swallowed up in a pack of six cars all vying for the front. The lead changed many times but on the last lap it was Hussain Umid Ali who broke through the group and snatched the chequered flag by a scant 0.112 seconds over Anjum Shaikh. With the points added up, Ali took top honours for the night, just pipping out Ed Jones who took second, while Rami Azzam collected third.
“It was difficult but I was driving well, I had a good kart and I tried very hard. Against this competition, these guys have more experience, but I think I did well today,” said Ali.
In the Masters category (ages 35+), Gianluca Elmosi claimed a surprise victory over Mohammed Ismail Ali, the usual Masters favourite. Dario Rubio followed up in third. The next SWS Sprint Race will be at Dubai Kartdrome on Monday, 24 October 2016.
