Photo: Top Speed
UAE4’s second round at Yas Marina Circuit concluded last Sunday with Bader Al Sulaiti and Sasha Bondarev taking a win each.
Al Sulaiti, driving a car co-entered by co-entered by Hitech GP and the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, was victorious in the reversed-grid race two.
He started second alongside R-ace GP’s Emily Cotty, and had no answer to the pole-sitter off the line as Cotty made a perfect launch to be alone up front by the time she reached the opening corner.
Xcel Motorsport’s Jarrett Clark started third and tried going around Al Sulaiti’s outside through the first two turns, then into the hotel section they both slid off and Al Sulaiti was ahead when they rejoined. Rain began to fall and Cotty was caught out, dropping to third mid-lap.
Making his way into second behind Al Sulaiti was Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani, and brave three-wide moves approaching the final chicane lifted Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari up to fifth after starting eighth.
Cotty held off Clark in the corkscrew section lap two, then could relax when the safety car was summoned as a result of Trident’s Dominik Simek crashing out in the hotel section following a three-car incident. Hitech’s Scott Lindblom pitted at the end of the lap with damage, Evans GP’s Thomas Ingram Hill retired and team-mate Alba Hurup Larsen also headed to the pits for a new nosecone.
The rain worsened on lap three, and red flags waved. Although the subsequent 10-minute stoppage presented an opportunity to switch to grooved tyres, it was passed up by most in the 39-car field. The race restarted behind the safety car with 20 minutes left on the clock, and the extra time for repairs meant Lindblom could rejoin the action.
A huge group of slick-shod runners on a track being pelted with rain meant the safety car stayed out for some time. Yas Heat’s Charbel Abi Gebrayel spun before even reaching turn two after leaving the pits, and later team-mate Zakaria Doleh lost their front wing and had to pit, Xcel’s Jaber Al Sabah spun and R-ace’s Andy Consani struck trouble so decided to join Doleh and Al Sabah in pitting for wet-weather tyres.
The decision proved fruitless as on lap five following the restart (and lap six overall), it was decided by race control to red flag the race again due to the intensity of the rain and most drivers’ tyre choices. The race clock ran down to zero while the field sat in the pits, the results were taken from the end of the last completed lap and Al Sulaiti was named victor.
Another mistake by Cotty meant she finished ninth on-the-road, gaining back a place after a 10-second penalty for a false start demoted Al Azhari from fifth to 15th.
David Cosma Cristofor made a lap one overtake to ensure he finished fifth ahead of Prema team-mate Christian Costoya, and stablemate Alp Aksoy Hasan (Mumbai Falcons) was sixth.
Bondarev had pole for race three, which began with Xcel’s Joseph Smith getting into trouble on the grid. With his car abandoned there, the safety car was summoned and the field headed through the pits at the end of the first two laps. Smith’s team-mate Brock Burton spun on lap three, and the restart did not take place until lap five.
Bondarev initially had Lindblom on his tail, but pulled away once Lindblom had to switch focus to Consani behind. He attempted a diving move into the chicane on lap eight, just avoiding contact, then pulled off a switchback move to the inside of Lindblom when they reached the first corner of the next lap. Lindblom went off shortly after, and the order of the top three was decided at that point.
Al Azhari was initially fourth ahead of Craigie (R-ace), Aksoy, Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Pinnacle Motorsport) and Cosma. The top three broke away thanks to Al Azhari’s defensive work, and Cosma got up to sixth on lap six.
Craigie got ahead of Al Azhari through the first two corners on lap seven, but then had a loose moment entering the hotel section and Al Azhari reclaimed fourth. It helped Cosma get involved, and when Craigie attempted another move at the final chicane it sent him and Al Azhari off and allowed Cosma to clear both.
Al Azhari lost out to Craigie in the same place as before on lap eight, and Aksoy was next to get on his tail. Kasper Schormans (Evans GP) passed Aksoy later in the race, and both he and Al Azhari avoided being struck when Aksoy attempted double dive into the chicane on lap 14. Hitech’s Theo Palmer was further back, and Campbell-Pilling was a distant 10th.
Al Sulaiti finished 31st after spinning mid-race, and Maccagnani was 26th after serving a drive-through penalty.
Results round-up
Race 2 (5 laps)
1 Bader Al Sulaiti QMMF by Hitech 15m07.955s
2 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons +0.746s
3 Jarrett Clark Xcel Motorsport +1.143s
4 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +1.756s
5 Christian Costoya Prema +2.931s
6 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +3.971s
7 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +4.825s
8 Emily Cotty R-ace GP +5.694s
9 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +6.176s
10 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons +7.209s
Fastest lap: Al Sulaiti, 1m54.976s
Race 3 (15 laps)
1 Bondarev 31m03.353s
2 Andy Consani R-ace GP +4.564s
3 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +7.824s
4 Cosma +9.138s
5 Craigie +14.862s
6 Adam Al Azhari Yas Heat Academy +18.451s
7 Kasper Schormans Evans GP +18.655s
8 Aksoy +18.932s
9 Theo Palmer Hitech GP +21.712s
10 Rowan Campbell-Pilling Pinnacle Motorsport +27.090s
Pole: Bondarev, 1m46.139s
FL: Bondarev, 1m47.670s
Championship standings
1 Bondarev 102 2 Consani 85 3 Craigie 53 4 Maccagnani 51 5 Cosma 47 6 Lindblom 40 7 Aksoy 36 8 Cotty 32 9 Al Azhari 31 10 Al Sulaiti 29