Dubai: Young Dubai-based karter Alexandre Silanine caused a stir when he qualified in pole position for the opening round of the 2012 Dubai Kartdrome Endurance Challenge at the UAE's premier karting facility yesterday.
The teenager, who competes on the UAE national scene, set the fastest lap time for his Timeless Events Racing team in the 15-minute qualifying period.
Reigning champions Batelco were sent to the back end of the grid when they were found to be under weight after the qualifying session. But this failed to deter their first stint driver Alban Varutti, who proceeded to carve his way through the field and within an hour was in the lead.
Paul Chatenay, doing the first stint for Timeless, led early on and settled in second behind Batelco, the two teams swapping the lead throughout the first few hours.
The Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum-led Dubai Falcons team, who are expected to be in contention throughout the 24 hours, were languishing in eighth early on, but after a couple of hours were third and targeting the leaders. Also showing strong pace early on was the UAE Arrows Racing Team, which kept in touch with the leading trio.
In the Corporate category, MBC Action showed strong pace early on, with pre-race favourites CG Racing chasing hard and taking the lead after the first pit stops.
Teams are set to battle at 2pm today, when the chequered flag falls.
