Final report from Al Ain, UAE
03.12.2007
Excuse Me, Coming Through!
At first glance, the Al Ain Raceway appeared to be one
that would provide many areas for passing opportunities.
As action began in the heat races we were not disappointed
as we were treated to some of the best on-track action
ever seen at a Grand Final. While a poor finish for a
driver in a heat race can me mentally soothed by saying,
“I’ll get them in the next race,” there
are no more chances for glory after the finals. As such,
this is the time for showing how well one can move through
the pack.
In the MAX class, a non-finish in the pre-final for the
UK’s Ben Cooper put the talented driver to the back
of the pack for the final. This was a tough blow to someone
that was one of the pre-race favorites. However, Ben showed
what he was made of in the final by charging from 34th
all the way up to 10th! This was the biggest move of the
day by anyone. Well-done Ben!
The Junior MAX class also saw a lot of passing. And top
honors goes to a pair of teammates from Japan, Ryuya Fujie
and Kazuki Hiramine. Fujie’s dramatic run from 17th
on the grid took him all the way to second and a podium
finish. Hiramine started further back in 27th but sliced
his way through the competition all the way to 5th. It
was an impressive performance by the two juniors. Could
we see a win coming soon for Japan?
After completing only two laps in the pre-final, Slovenian
DD2 driver Luk Jurkovic found himself starting 32nd in
the final. In the finals Luk took advantage of every opportunity
presented to him and, in the end, had moved all the way
through the field to finish 12th. Honorable mention in
the DD2 class goes to South Africa’s Kyle Lawrence
who started 25th and moved up to Ninth at the finish.
It is interesting to note that Kyle credits Luk for some
of the passes he made. “Luk actually passed me early
on. I just stayed on his bumper and when he went through
a gap I just followed!” Perhaps the two should team
up every race!
Perfect Score
Canadian Pier-Luc Ouellette never got a chance to pass
anybody, and that’s perfectly fine with him. In
the most dominating performance ever seen at the ROTAX
MAX Grand Finals, the talented driver from Quebec was
the fastest every time he took to the track. This is the
first time anyone has been at the top of the results list
from the first warm up to the end of the final.
The International Experience
Part of the fun of the Grand Finals is the cultural exchange
between countries. At no other race are more countries
represented, more languages spoken and more flags flown.
For those that were making their first trip to the Grand
Finals, this was an experience they will never forget.
Just as in the Olympics, many friendships are made by
people from different parts of the globe. At the end of
the week it’s not uncommon to see competitors from
different countries exchanging team t-shirts as they wish
each other well and look forward to meeting again next
year.
Nigel Edwards
Nigel Edwards is the acting Clerk of the Course this
week for the ROTAX MAX Grand Finals at the Al Ain Raceway
here in the United Arab Emirates. Nigel hails from Nottingham,
England where he is the COC at the P.F. International
kart track. Of all his duties, Nigel is adamant that safety
is, and always will be the number one priority.
One of the aspects that makes Nigel well suited to his
job is that he has a very strong background in racing.
He raced both karts and cars for 21 years and was the
1981 Middle East Kart Champion while running for the DAP
team.
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