Lady race driver Fabienne Lanz made a cameo appearance in the final race of the DAMC Karting Championship, and walked away with top honours, as she powered to victory in the Senior Max category at Dubai Kartdrome on Friday (20 April 2012) – also a day when the season’s DAMC champions were crowned.
Lanz who is no stranger to the Kartdrome, although she campaigns mainly in South Africa and Europe, was untouchable on the day in the Senior Max category as she qualified in pole position and then proceeded to win the heat race, the pre-final before romping home to win the final.
Next best and chasing hard was Piers Pakenham-Walsh who was runner-up each time to Lanz. Phillipe Valenza was third in the final. As for the DAMC Max Seniors championship, consistency paid off as Ammar Rayess walked off with the champion’s trophy having scored in every round.
In the Max Masters it was a three-way battle, all day, between Jonathan Mowatt, Walid Al Qassemi and Paul Walsh. There was little to separate the trio and in the end it was Mowatt who took top honours in the final after winning the pre-final.
Qassemi, qualified in pole position and went on to win the heat race but had to settle for second in the final. Walsh was third. The result was enough for Qassemi to be awarded the 2011/2012 DAMC Masters champion’s trophy.
Oliver George scored a hat-trick of wins in the DD2 class which ran combined with the Masters. But the championship went to Maurits Knopjes who had done enough to seal the title in the previous outing, and thus sat out the season finale. Instead he was overseeing his son, Sem Knopjes, who made his karting debut in the Cadet class on the day.
Although only a small field turned out for the DAMC Max Juniors finale, it was a quality field which delivered some of the closest racing seen on the day.
There was hardly anything to separate Pasqual Pook, Tom, Bale, Ameer Hassan and Patrick Hannah. The quartet running nose-to-tail in each race. A trend throughout the season and as a consequence races are inevitably very close and packed with action. The season finale was no different.
Pook crossed the line to beat Bale by 0.253 seconds in the heat race with Hassan third. In the pre-final Hassan bounced back to take the win with Bale again second. This set the scene for a nail biting final race with Hassan setting the pace and Pook, Hannah and Bale glued to his bumper for the 12 laps.
Hassan managed to edge away late in the to win the final, from Hannah in second and Pook taking the final podium spot. The victory was enough for Hassan to claim the 2011/2012 DAMC Max Juniors title.
Victory in the Final of the Cadet Class went to Taymour Kermanshahchi, who also bagged the DAMC championship crown at the end of the day.
Kartdrome manager Ryan Trutch summed up the season, “We witnessed some of the biggest grids seen in recent years with a high level of competition across all classes, coupled with the emergence of some talented drivers across the board. We are proud to have hosted and help grow karting in the UAE, as this is true grassroots racing where future stars are most likely to be nurtured.” |
