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Scuderia’s Mohammad Al Habsi was the class of the Micro Max field at Al Forsan International Sports Resort on Friday as he won the final at round 2 of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge. Earlier in the day, the young Omani was involved in a collision with Georgie Zouein which relegated him to fifth on the grid for the final. A scorching drive through the pack saw him come off better against Zouein, Alex Connor and Abu Dhabi Racing’s Ali Al Shamsi.
Al Shamsi, on his home track, tried to fight back but Al Habsi was too strong and took a hard-fought victory by a slender 0.229 seconds. Connor remained ahead of Zouein to take third, and only six tenths of a second covered the top four.
Ziggy Kermanshahchi was looking good to take victory in the Mini Max class, but things went awry after he was involved in a collision with Liam Crystal at the start of the final. Several drivers had to take evasive action to avoid the skirmish, but Sem Knopjes emerged at the front.
Knopjes pulled out a comfortable gap of three seconds and was able to hold it until the end to take a popular win. However all eyes were on the battle for second as Shihab Al Habsi, Jamie Day, and Liam Crystal raced bumper to bumper, with Kermanshahchi close behind. A difference in tactics through the last complex of corners saw Al Habsi, Cystal, and Day emerge from the last turn side-by-side, crossing the line mere tenths apart in the written order.
In the 125 Max class, Ahmed Al Khamisi converted his first-ever pole position into a win that he will remember for a long time. Although he was gifted pole after Pasqual Pook was demoted in the pre-final due to being underweight in qualifying, Al Khamisi held off intense pressure from both Pook and Guilio Peroni. Pook and Peroni had few opportunities to pass the Abu Dhabi Racing star and the pressure they piled on couldn’t break him.
The DD2 final result would be decided by the stewards as Emanuele Pagani was handed a 10-second post-race penalty for gaining positions by using run off areas. Despite dominating the pre-final, a technical glitch saw him start from the back of the final. While his comeback drive was impressive, exceeding track limits when passing Kevin Day, Sanad Al Rawahi, and Abdulla Al Rawahi would blot his performance.
Abdulla Al Rawahi controlled a processional – if close – race, with Sanad Al Rawahi unable to pass his brother. One second separated them at the flag. Day, meanwhile, was on blistering form, finishing third overall and being classified as the first Master.
Lucas Petersson won the Junior Max final by 3.1 seconds after holding off early pressure from Taymour Kermanshahchi (second) and Jakob Robinson (third). Petersson had started from pole position and capitalised to draw out a controlling advantage that would see him remained untroubled.
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