Karting: Motorcity 12 Hours at Dubai Kartdrome set to challenge top teams

Tuesday 24th May 2011: It will be hot, make that very hot, possibly 45 degrees, it will be fast and it will be furious as the region’s elite in leisure karting teams take on the Motorcity 12 Hours endurance race at the Dubai Kartdrome.

Bahrain’s finest, Batelco triumphed in the first round of the championship earlier this year and will be going all out to repeat the feat in the second round of the 2011 Motorcity Endurance Karting Championship . Again they face a big challenge from the likes of Ocean Rubber racing Team, Dubai Falcon Racing Team, Speedsters plus a host of new teams making their debut and start the race as unknown quantities.

In among the top teams will be some of the region’s best leisure karting talent and young race drivers including the likes of: Edward Jones and Ramez Azzam (Batelco), Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Saeed Al Mehairi, Mohammed Al Mutawaa, featuring Fabienne Lanz (Dubai Falcons), Paul Chatenay, Atef Al Barwani and Haytham Sultan (Ocean Rubber), Sam Zian, Luca Cima and Rami Joudi (Speedsters).

Also making the journey to Dubai will be top French kart driver Alban Varutti who adds muscle to the Batelco effort and ace lady racer Fabienne Lanz.

In the past year CG Racing has become a force in the Corporate category of the endurance series and will again start with the favourites tag attached to their kart. They are the team to beat and face a formidable job fending off the likes of defending champions OMD Racing, Publicis Groupe Racing, MBC Action and debutants P918 made up of Porsche Middle East workers.

A host of new teams will be taking up the challenge in this second round of the series and the debutants will all start the race as unknown factors. In fact the whole race is an unknown quantity for all the teams as this will be the first running of a 12 hour endurance event for leisure karts.

Dubai Autodrome chairman Saeed Khalfan explains,

“For us – at the Dubai Autodrome and Kartdrome – this is an exciting and challenging development. This is more than a truncated version of the 24 hours, as rules have been tweaked to ensure that very different strategy and approach will be required by teams. But this we will all learn along the way in this inaugural 12 hours challenge.”

Thus the approach may be the same as the challenge of the elements coupled to the battle between teams remains, however strategies and well laid plans will have to be rewritten and adapted to the 12 hours.

Kartdrome manager Ryan Trutch predicts,

“The blueprint to win the 24 hours has been tried and tested over the past six years. With the 12 hours challenge teams will have to readjust their battle plans and as a result we expect an intriguing battle, during what will largely be a night race.”

Chairman Khalfan adds “Running an enduro race at this time of the year in Dubai is sure to test the stamina and strategy of teams to the maximum, which coupled with speed and consistency will be the elements to conquer if teams want to do well in this race.”

The UAE national flag will get the race underway at 21:00 pm on Friday27th May with the chequered flag dropping as the winner flashes by at 09:00 am on Saturday 28th.

Sign-on and briefing will take place between 18:00 pm and 19:00 pm with 30 minutes of free practice at 19:40 pm, followed by qualifying at 20:10 pm.

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