DAMC Max Seniors & Max Masters: Scott Latham masterclass

Scott Latham stamped his authority on proceedings in the fifth round of the DAMC Karting Championship at Dubai Autodrome. There was nothing to stop the Dubai based Kiwi as he notched up three wins on the day, including the final, over his closest challenger Maurits Knopjes who was forced to settle for runner-up on each occasion.

Next best, in third place, was Karan Rallan who enjoyed one of his best showings to date and managed to keep former HSBC Academy driver Mohammed Al Mutawaa at bay

Andrew Fuller was best of the Masters, winning the final from Ian Prestwich and Paul Walsh, the latter having won the pre-final earlier in the day.

DAMC Max Juniors: Edward Jones too good on the day

Junior Rotax Max karting in the UAE has been dominated by Edward Jones and Shahaan Engineer for most of the year. It was the same story for round 5 as the two were the class of a growing Junior field. There was very little to separate the two ultra-fast juniors although it appeared that Jones had an edge over his rival on this occasion.

The record books will show that Jones won all three races, however he was forced to work hard for his victories as Engineer pounced whenever he could and in the final managed to lead the first half under extreme pressure from Jones. The two would swap positions on numerous occasions, remarkably with no incident as it is clear that these two Dubai teenagers are at the very top of their game. In the end Edwards did the business and made it a hat trick of wins over Engineer who was second in all three races.

Behind this duo were a bunch of Juniors battling for the last podium spot including: Nikolaus Dedic, Mohamed Alaa, Sanad Al Rawahi, Piers Pakenham-Walsh and Abdullah Al Rawahi. There was little to separate the youngsters with some close racing being the order of the day. Pakenham-Walsh was third in the heat, Al Rawahi third in the pre-final and in the final Dedic gave a strong performance to claim third place and take home a trophy.

Cadet Class: Tom Bale leaves them behind
 
Young Tom Bale has owned the Cadet Class for the past three years and he continues to get stronger with each outing. However in Round 5 it was ever improving Cyrus Engineer who caused an upset by qualifying in pole position with Bale starting beside him on the grid.

From the start of the first heat Bale got his act together and was in truth never really threatened throughout the day as he powered to three convincing wins, including the final. Behind him was where all the action was happening in a massive battle between Pascal Pook, Patrick Hannah and Engineer.

In the heat race it was Pook second with Hannah and Engineer in his slipstream as they crossed the line. In the pre-final it was Hannah and Engineer with Pook falling back at the finish and in the final it was Hannah and Pook while Engineer suffered a DNF due to a broken accelerator cable.

SWS Sprint Races: Sam Zian shows his class with double win

Perhaps inspired by his forthcoming trip to Paris for the SWS Sprint World Finals, Sam Zian was a man on a mission in the SWS Sprint races on Friday. Despite a lowly qualifying, by his standards, the former UAE Touring Car driver made a good start and was soon tailing qualifying pace setters Mohammed at Mutawaa and Nathan Stevens while keeping at bay the likes of Haythan Sultan, Hussain Ali, Patrick Jarjour and Phil Tromans.

It did not take long for Zian to stamp his authority on proceedings and taking victory in Race 1 with an impressive display. He took full advantage of the pack chasing and battling among themselves, invariably slowing them down and allowing the leader to progress unhindered to the chequered flag. Stevens was second by the narrowest margin from third placed Sultan with Al Mutawaa fourth ahead of Jarjour and Tromans.

With Zian starting from pole in Race 2 he got away well again with Stevens giving chase early on. Despite a few early “showboating” laps Zian got down to business by taking the lead and pulling out a gap which saw him win the race by over four seconds from Stevens.

Behind the leading duo was a titanic battle which again included Ali, Jarjour, Tromans and Sultan but this time they had to deal with Atef Al Barwani, Luigi Gariano and Ian Grant. The group provided the highlight of the day with their fierce tussle for the final podium spot. In the end it was Ali third followed by Jarjour, Al Barwani and Tromans.

The final race of the combined DAMC Karting Championship and SWS Sprint Races takes place on 26 March at the Kartdrome.