Van Kalmthout wins, closes in on leader Drugovich

During the free practice session on Thursday, Dutch driver Rinus van Kalmthout had said that he needed a lot of luck to do better at the Dubai Autodrome after mixed results in Bahrain. On Friday, luck was definitely with the 18-year-old as he finished third in the first race and secured a dramatic victory in the second race in the ongoing MRF Challenge tournament.

Van Kalmthout’s day was made even better with championship leader Felipe Drugovich suffering a battery failure on the last corner of the second race to slip from third to ninth. Earlier, the Brazilian driver had continued his magnificent form as he won the first race of the day.

The glee on van Kalmthout’s face was evident after he closed the gap with Drugovich to two points. “I feel luck is with me. If I keep this up, it will be a great championship,” the Dutchman said after the race.

Starting from third place in the second race, van Kalmthout maintained the pressure and he took the lead in the third lap. The 18-year-old notched up the best lap time of 1:57:128 and extended his lead over the rest of the field to finish 11 seconds ahead of France’s Louis Gachot.

Heading into the last two races in Dubai on Saturday, the pressure is on both Drugovitch and van Kalmthout. However, van Kalmthout is confident about a good show.

DUBAI: