SWS Senior victory for Al Mehairi at Dubai Kartdrome 24.01.2017: Kelly Fergal tops Masters podium, Al Azhari wins the SWS Junior trophy

Kelly Fergal tops Masters podium, Al Azhari wins the SWS Junior trophy



photo caption:    SWS Senior Podium at Dubai Kartdrome 23 January 2017


After a night of tense kart racing at Dubai Kartdrome, Saeed Al Mehairi, Kelly Fergal and Keanu Al Azhari all emerged as the big winners at the SWS Sprint Races on Monday (23 January).



Saeed Al Mehairi, who secured second in qualifying and went on to bag two races in row, fought off tough competition from his rivals, especially in Race One, where he dropped down to third before recovering for the win.



In each race Al Mehairi finished less than two tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival, squeezing ahead of Hussain Umid Ali by 0.110 seconds in Race One and 0.132 seconds in front of Anjum Shaikh in Race Two.



After the SWS Senior points were tallied, Al Mehairi was the undisputed winner for the night with 80 points, followed by Anjum Shaikh in second with 66 points and Hussain Umid Ali taking third on 65 points.



Afterward Al Mehairi said, “I think it was a good race for everyone and it was fair for everyone as well.  Good fun and a good race for me for the beginning of the year.”



In the SWS Masters category, for drivers 35 years and older, Kelly Fergal proved to be unstoppable.  He was best of class in qualifying and went for two class victories in a row.  Alan Adotey was best-of-the-rest in second place, while Heiki Eelma claimed third.



Now a regular contender for the SWS Junior category, Keanu Al Azhari’s hard fought evening once again demonstrated his position as an upcoming talent in the sport.



Jake Anderson topped qualifying with a best lap time of 1:23.249, just 0.356 seconds ahead of Al Azhari.  However, Anderson was unable to exploit pole position in Race One, dropping down to fifth, while a group of four karts, led by Reisch Constantin, stormed into the lead.



Constantin took the chequered flag 1.822 seconds ahead of Zaid Haddad, with Al Azhari trailing in for third.



In Race Two Al Azhari pulled away from the pack and sailed home for a comfortable victory, a full 6.280 seconds ahead of Alexander Renner, followed by Zaid Haddad in third.





photo caption:    SWS Junior Podium at Dubai Kartdrome 23 January 2017



When the points of the two races were calculated, Al Azhari had a total of 73 points, four points up on Zaid Haddad with 69.  Alexander Renner secured third with 67 points.



Al Azhari commented, “It feels great.  Race One was pretty challenging but in Race Two, I found it easy to drive away from the top three.”



The next SWS Sprint Series night will be on Monday, 6 February at Dubai Kartdrome.




- Lindsay Johnston, Total Communications Dubai - also photos