At the end of just over 12 hours of racing it was Dubai Falcon Racing Team who took top honours in the Kartdrome 700km race, Round 3 of the four round 2015 Endurance Championship driven by MINI.
Managed by Hadi Al Blouishi and with a driver line-up led by Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum and also including world champion Sean Babington, Saeed Al Mehairi, Ali Mansoori, Sam Zian and Steve Lyall, the Dubai Falcon outfit now hold top spot in the championship standings with one round remaining.
After lining up fourth on the grid, Sheikh Hasher made an excellent start to take an early lead over the 32 kart field, and thereafter the team spent most of the 700km fending off a concerted challenge from several teams, including Mach 1, CG Racing Pro, Misanino KCE, Team Emirates and MINI Dubai who qualified on pole.
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Prior to the start Dubai Autodrome General Manager Richard Birch was prompted to comment: “This is the strongest grid we have witnessed for the endurance championship, including three karting world champions in action. With the talent spread over several teams it is anybody’s race.”
For most of the night it looked that way, with a leaderboard which was deceiving as strategies came into play.
With 16 mandatory pitstops required, CG Racing Pro threw the cat among the pigeons with two very early pitstops.
Thereafter, team managers and strategists had their hands full making the right calls, creating an intriguing contest of teamwork and wits.
Only in the final hour did the true picture emerge, and when the chequered flag waved to bring proceedings to an end it was Dubai Falcon Racing Team who completed 583 laps, winning by one lap from main championship rivals CG Racing Pro in second.
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Winning team boss Al Blouishi said: “This was a superb team effort, with our drivers delivering on the track while we did our work in the pits with the strategy. Special mention to Saeed Al Mehairi and Sheikh Hasher who were granted time off from their military service to competet in this event.”
“Also a big thank you to our sponsors – TAG Heuer, SkyDive Dubai and Corthay – who make this possible. Also to our rivals for providign such a tough challenge and Kartdrome for again putting on a top show. We can now turn our attention to the final race in December where we aim to wrap up the title.”
Mach 1 scored their best result of the championship to date with third place ahead of impressive Misanino KCE from Italy in fourth.
Team Emirates, who were constantly among the front runners, were fifth over the finish line but did enough to claim the prestigious Corporate Category top prize.
MINI Dubai, who were constantly at the sharp end of the action, were sixth overall and top team in the Nations Cup, with CG Racing 1 clinching seventh overall, and with it two second place trophies in the Corporate Category and Nations Cup.
Fly Emirates were eighth over the line and third in the Corporate Category, with CG Racing 2 ninth and ENOC NH8 rounding out the top ten.
Other award winning teams on the day were Rival Racing who took home the Best New Team trophy, with the Special Prize going to MINI Team Russia.
The final round of the Endurance Championship Driven by MINI takes place at the Kartdrome on 11-12 December 2015, where the title will be decided at the 24 hours race that weekend.
The top teams in the 2015 Kartdrome Endurance Championship will earn an entry to the prestigious Sodi-W Series (SWS) World Finals scheduled for May 2016.
