Al Ain: The final round of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge at the Al Ain Raceway saw Hamda Al Qubaisi take the top spot in the Mini Max Category in a thrilling conclusion to the season. Hamda, one of the most exciting young drivers in the UAE, started the final race in third place, moved up to second on lap two and finished first after an intense battle just three laps from the end.
“I’m so happy, I was not expecting this result at all, I just wanted to have a clean race and finish on the podium. I would like to thank the team who took care of my kart, to Daman Speed Academy, Abu Dhabi Racing and to my parents who gave me the opportunity to race,” said an elated Hamda.
In the Junior Max Category, the heat sessions saw a number of incidents and collisions that prevented Amna Al Qubaisi, Saeed Al Ali, Salem Ibrahim and Ahmad Al Khamisi from practicing for the pre final and final races. However Amna put in an excellent performance in the final race, showing great pace, to finish in 5th place, just ahead of her teammates.
The DSA drivers in the Micro Max Category had a mixed day, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Ahmad Al Saadi had a good race finishing inside the top ten. Meanwhile Ali Al Shamsi made a promising start in 4th place and was pushing hard for a place on the podium when his chances were dashed after a number of unfortunate spins.
As the season progressed the DSA team also won numerous other trophies, Hamda won the Challenge Trophy for the last 2 rounds in addition to her podium trophies and her sister Amna has come 2nd in Challenge Trophy. Al Saadi won ‘Best novice’ in the Micro Max Category and Ibrahim won ‘Best Novice’ in the Junior Max Category in the final race of the season.
Luke Varley, Daman Speed Academy Coach said: “It has been a rollercoaster ride but I am very happy with what we have achieved this season and I am extremely proud of all the DSA drivers, they have been great. If you think back to the beginning of the season most of the kids were new to racing and were being lapped and now we are seeing Hamda winning races and her sister on the podium. We have also seen Al Shamsi have a fantastic season, putting in some very fast times and showing real potential. I think all the drivers have improved a huge amount as the season has gone on and I think as a team we have ended the season strongly. I hope that will give the drivers the motivation to start on the front foot next season, our aim is to have at least one podium every time we race.”
