Umid records best lap to win; Azzam finishes 2nd
dubai — After a hard fought contest, Hussain Umid Ali notched up another Sodi World Series (SWS) Senior win, Heiki Eelma returned to dominate the Masters category, Abigail Birch set a new lap record and Alexander Renner earned his first SWS Junior Cup victory at the Dubai Kartdrome.
Veteran competitors delivered a spectacle of racing on the 1.2 kilometre outdoor circuit of the Dubai Kartdrome, with the top half of the SWS Senior grid of 29 competitors all locked in fierce battle.
In one of the closest SWS Senior qualifying sessions on record, the best lap times of the top 13 drivers were all within a second of the leader, Hussain Umid Ali, who set the early pace with a best lap time of 1:10.582. Ramez Azzam was a sliver off the mark, a mere 0.018 seconds behind.
In Race One it was Rami Azzam who jumped from third on the grid to take control of an aggressive field of karts. Azzam held off all contenders and took the chequered flag, 1.664 seconds ahead of his brother, Ramez. Hussain Umid Ali was close behind for third.
The contest was even closer in Race Two, with the top four drivers — the Azzam brothers, Umid Ali and Abigail Birch — all jostling for the lead.
Hussain Umid Ali emerged from the pack and took the win over Ramez Azzam by only 0.212 seconds. Rami Azzam got past Abigail Birch by just 0.011 seconds to take third.
After the final points were tallied for the SWS Senior races, both Hussain Umid Ali and Rami Azzam were equal on 73 points each.
In cases of a tie, the qualifying results are then taken into account and Umid Ali’s top qualifying finish undermined Azzam’s third place result. Umid Ali walked away with the winner’s trophy, while Azzam settled for second place silverware and his brother claimed third on 72 points for the night.