 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||
   |
 |
|
28 March 2009 Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum leads NFM Professionals to victory The first round of the 2009 Nivea for Men Challenge, the 24 Hours of Dubai at the Kartdrome, was won in c From the green light, with Sheikh Hasher behind the wheel, NFM Professionals set the pace. Despite some early pressure from the likes of which saw him swapping positions with the MF Chrono Team, ZMS Racing and Team Grohe. Endurance racing is a team effort and Sheikh Hasher was teamed up with some of the most effective kart racers in the region. The team never missed a beat as the race progressed, posting some astoundingly quick leaps on a regular basis. Team Manager Mike Wilkes, in charge of the race winning strategy said after the race, “ This victory is the result of a really strong team effort and pleasing because we had a couple of new drivers on board. Everyone did their bit and normally I do not like signaling out any particular driver, but this time a special mention must go out to Christophe Hissette who qualified in pole position which gave us the edge from the start.” Other drivers in the team included Emirati Saeed Al Mehairi and Sean Murphy. The NFM Professionals completed 1,143 laps of the Kartdrome on their way to victory. As The “race within a race”, the Nivea for Men Corporate Challenge for non-professional teams, provided the closest action throughout the 24 hours with several teams in contention. When the chequered flag dropped it was the reliability and team work of Team Repton which earned them coveted Corporate Category winner’s trophy. Team captain Greg Carlow said, “It was really good to win this category as we are just a bunch of old guys doing this for pleasure. The win came down to staying out of trouble and keeping up a consistent pace. We are all very happy with the result.” The team shared the Fair Play prize with Team Skanska for sportsmanship and clean driving on track. Second place in the Corporate rankings went to Multiplex Racing, followed by third placed Grosvenor House. A total of 27 teams and more than 150 drivers fought it out for 24 hours, each with a big story to recount at the end. Endurance racing of this nature tends to be an adventure and in truth all who made it to the end will consider the accomplishment a victory in itself. For most the end also provided a welcome opportunity to sooth their wary bodies and aching muacles. Round 2 of the 2009 Nivea for Men Endurance Challenge takes place 23/24 October 2009, the 24 Hours of Dubai at the Kartdrome with the final Round 3 on 11/12 December 2009. See next page for top 10 results 27/28 March 2009 Top 10 Results (Overall)
Top 5 Results (Corporate Category)
|
| Posted by : Dubai Autodrome Posted on : 29.03.2009 |
onvincing fashion by the UAE’s Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum led NFM Professionals. After 24 hours of action packed racing in trying conditions, which included predictions of rain which never materialised despite falling torrentially in areas around Dubai.
the event progressed Team Grohe emerged as the main rivals to the leaders and despite a concerted effort in the last few hours to reel in the leaders, cutting the lead gap from 5 laps to 2 laps, they had to settle for second place. Last year’s winners Batelco from Bahrain never looked like challenging the leaders and in fact had to stave off Santos Motors to score third place and the final podium spot. Santos Motors finished fourth. The MF Chrono team, from France, who were slugging it out for the lead in the early stages were victims of a lack of depth in their team which saw them drop from contenders to fifth place overall. They finished ahead of former winners Y&R Dojomoto in sixth, Ocean Rubber Racing in seventh and NFM Corporate in eighth.
