Thursday Report from 2022 Rotax MAX Grand Finals in Portugal

24 November 2022

Thursday Report from 2022 Rotax MAX Grand Finals in Portugal

Maxim Bobreshov and Kyle Kumaran were Team UAE's standout drivers during the Heat races, on Thursday.,at the 2022 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals at Kartodromo de Algarve in Portimao, Portugal.

With sunshine amid the clouds but no wet weather, unlike the previous days, meant for some very competitive and action-packed racing on the day; incidents and accidents were plentiful as the top Rotax MAX drivers did battle for the Pre-Finals on Friday.

The best performer from Team UAE was Bobreshov who finished fourth overall, sitting himself up for a second-row start, on the grid for the Mico MAX Pre-Final, ahead of him was the category's highest scorer Lithuania's Majus Mazinas, In the DD2 class, Kumaran was 16th overall on the scorecard, meaning he will line up on the eighth row for the Pre-Final; pole position went to Mark Kimber from Team Britain, with Belgian driver Glenn van Parijs beside him in second.

This is how the other Team UAE drivers fared in Thursday's Heat races in Portugal:

Mini MAX: Zain Elhommossany was 26th out of the 72 drivers in a tightly contested class which was topped by Lebanon's Christopher El Feghali.

Junior MAX: Filippo Parmeggiani has work to in the Pre-Finals after ending the Heats in 56th out of 72 drivers.
Senior MAX: Theo Kekati's solid performance a day earlier came to naught as, after another impressive start, the Abu Dhabi-based driver was involved in a crash in Heat 2 with his kart sustaining extensive damage, ruling him out of the event.
DD2 Masters: After the three Heats, Tony Hogg was 33rd out of the 36 veteran drivers in the field.
DD2: Kayne Cherian ended 65th out of the 72 drivers in the premier Rotax class, with a challenging task awaiting him to make it into Saturday's final.

Summing up the day, Al Ain Raceway and Team UAE Manager, Guy Sheffield reflected: "It was an action-packed day at Rotax MAX Grand Finals with Maxim and Kyle providing Team UAE with the potential for a strong result.

"Maxim spent the whole week in the company of the pacesetters, leading more than once, in the Micro MAX class, and could be the surprise driver in the days ahead, while Kyle delivered solid performances to edge forwards from his qualifying position, the Team UAE driver showing front-running pace which should serve his well in the crucial days ahead.

"The team is of course gutted by Theo's withdrawal, while Zain, Filippo, Kayne and Tony endured a character-building day, the quartet having work to do in Thursday's Pre-Finals; but this is motorsport and anything can happen..."

The Pre-Finals take place on Friday, ahead of Saturday's 2022 Rotax MAX Grand Finals, a day on which RMC World Champions will be crowned

End.

Schedule: https://grandfinals.rotax-kart.com/time-schedule

Live Stream: https://grandfinals.rotax-kart.com/livestream

Live Timing: https://grandfinals.rotax-kart.com/livetiming

UAE RMC Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/officialuaermcpage/

RMC Website: http://www.alainraceway.com/uaermc/