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20 October 2016

DAY 4 - Team UAE Qualifying Day at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016

 

 

With the track still wet from overnight rain, the 360 participants endured a tricky final practice on the morning of Day 4 of the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016. 

Brilliant sunshine returned, though, to ensure that all classes took to a bone-dry track for the crucial Qualifying sessions in the afternoon.

With high hopes after some stand-out performances from Team UAE drivers in practice, the quick-fire 8 minute Qualifying sessions were all about timing and positioning, with even a small strategic error proving costly as one second would cover upwards of 60 drivers.

For the International categories, the 72 strong fields were split into 2 groups, with the second group arguably benefiting from an improved track condition.  Tehmur Chohan took advantage of this to finish his Junior MAX session in 15th place after Lucas Petersson had recovered from a poor start to steal 17th place on his final lap.  Both drivers will find themselves right in the mix during the three Heat races and will be looking for top 15 finishes to give them a decent opportunity to make it to the Grand Final on Saturday (Day

Rashid Al Dhaheri and Oscar McElroy were strong in Micro MAX, 14th and 16th respectively until a post-race penalty for McElroy saw his fastest lap disallowed, relegating him to 31st.  McElroy was disconsolate but quickly refocused on the job at hand in the knowledge that his outright pace should enable him to move through the field easily.

Ziggy Kermanshahchi went into the Mini MAX Qualifying session as one of the favourites after impressing with the 3rd quickest time overall in practice.  Replication of that searing pace would have seen him qualify in 2nd place but was left disappointed with 23rd place as he was unable to conjure the same performance.

UAE MAX Champion, Pasqual Pook, found the pace when it mattered with a scintillating 11th in the MAX category.  Vice Champion, Giulio Peroni, found things harder going but kept himself in contention with 32nd position.

In DD2 Masters, veteran UAE racers Hussain Umid Ali and Anthony Hogg were both within one second of the overall fastest driver but will have their work cut out in the Heat races after finishing 27th and 30th in their respective groups.

All eyes were on Omani driver Abdullah Al Rawahi after he was 3rd fastest in final practice.  Unfortunately, though, he failed to get a single clear lap during the brief Qualifying session and was left frustrated with 19th position.  Indy Lights Champion, Edward Jones, improved his pace throughout practice in the premier DD2 class and was 27th after Qualifying but will know his extensive race experience will pay off during the next phase of the event.  Taymour Kermanshahchi managed 18th in the other DD2 group.

The Heat phase of the event will see all drivers compete against each other in 3 Heat races (2 for Micro MAX and Mini MAX), with points awarded for the final classification in each to determine which drivers make it through to the Pre-Finals on Day 6.

The drivers (and race numbers) representing Team UAE and Oman at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2016 are:

Micro Max 43 - Oscar McElroy (Top ranked UAE-based Micro MAX competitor)

Micro MAX 44 - Rashid Al Dhaheri (Leading Micro MAX Emirati National)

 

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