15 April 2009
Preview: DAMC Karting Round 6 and SWS Sprint Race
Titles to be decided on final karting race day at the Kartdrome

The final round of the 2008/2009 DAMC Karting Championship takes place at the Kartdrome this weekend, on Friday 17 April 2009. A number of Championship titles are up for grabs and by the end of the day new Champions will be declared in what has been a tightly fought season.

In the premier DAMC Max Seniors Class Scott Latham will be out to take his second karting title of the season, after recently clinching the UAE Max Challenge Championship. He has been hard to beat at the Kartdrome and will be looking to end his season on a high. His closest challenger, albeit 40 points adrift, is Arnaud Bouf who looks set to take runner-up honours. Rookie Mohammed Al Mutawaa looks set to claim third place in the Championship as his closest rival, Rami Azzam, is unlikely to contest the class due to technical issues with his kart. Damian Knott leads the standings in the DAMC Masters Class by 22 points from Paul Walsh and with up to 55 points available on the day, this one could go down to the wire.

In the DAMC Max Juniors Class it appears that Edward Jones will pocket the title after a strong season in which he has dominated the class. His closest rival, Elliot Patrick, trails Jones by 28 points and only force majeure will see him upset the odds. Maurits Knopjes has been untouchable throughout the season in the DAMC DD2 Class and the 2008/2009 title is a mere formality for the Dutchman.

Fadi Aswad and Warren Christie have slugged it out in the DAMC TAG Class for the entire season and the final round will be decisive as there is nothing to separate the two in the points table, setting up a grand finale where the winner on the day takes all.

Reigning Cadet Class Champion Tom Bale goes into the final round with a comfortable 34 points lead over his nearest rival and looks set to notch up back to back Cadet Championship titles. Behind him are the two most improved drivers of the season, second and third respectively, Zak Munawer and Eduard Ruzsa.

For the final round of the DAMC Karting Championship, the Kartdrome organisers, will introduce the first SWS Sprint Race using Arrive & Drive karts. Kartdrome manager David Terrien explains, “There has been great demand from our customers to create a series or championship using our Arrive & Drive karts. As a result we have conceptualised the SWS Sprint Race which will consist of practice/qualifying, a pre-final race and a final race for drivers who don’t own karts but are of a driving level that makes them want to race. Thus we are introducing this concept which is affiliated to the Sodi W-Series global leisure kart ranking system. This first race should be a prelude to a summer night SWS Sprint series.”

The first SWS Sprint races, which will run on the programme during the final day of DAMC Karting Championship, has attracted some formidable drivers including UAE Touring Car Championship ace Sam Zian and Speedsters regular Richie Honein. Also on the grid will be a couple of the quickest media drivers Gautam Sharma (Autocar and F1 Racing) and Phill Tromans (AutoMiddleEast.com).

Practice, qualifying and the first heat for all DAMC classes take place in the morning with the pre-finals and finals (for DAMC classes and SWS races) scheduled for after prayers and lunch.