SWS Sprint Series sees closest race of the season at Dubai Kartdrome 29.03.2016: Hussain Umid Ali, Abi Birch, Anjum Shaikh, Luis Velasco, Jakub Fitzsimmons all winners on the night

Hussain Umid Ali, Abi Birch, Anjum Shaikh, Luis Velasco, Jakub Fitzsimmons all winners on the night



 Top three in both the Seniors and Masters category on the Kartdrome podium at the end of Round 6 of the 2016 SWS Sprint Series


Round 5 of the 2016 SWS Sprint Series delivered some of the closest racing witnessed at the Kartdrome so far this season, and when the dust settled Hussain Umid Ali emerged winner in the Senior category, Anjum Shaikh top Master driver and Jakub Fitzsimmons winner of the Juniors class.


Umid Ali got his night off to a great start by winning Race 1 after a thrilling five-way battle for top honours, which included Dubai schoolgirl Abigail Birch, Ahmed Alhammadi, Romaldo Labrooy and Rami Azzam.


The quintet crossed the line almost side-by-side, a mere second separating all five as the chequered flag waved with Umid Ali taking top spot by 0.13 of a second from Alhammadi in second, Labrooy third, Birch fourth and Azzam fifth.


In Race 2, Birch and Azzam broke away from the chasing pack and engaged in their own battle, with Birch claiming victory by a mere tenth of a second ahead of Azzam in second. Behind them, Alhammadi came home third with Umid Ali fourth and Labrooy in fifth.


When the points for both races were tallied Birch and Umid Ali were tied on 71 points, but in the tie-breaker the latter took overall victory by virtue of a better qualifying time than Birch.


Anjum Shaikh was once again the best placed Master driver, finishing seventh in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2 which made him top scoring veteran on the night. Several novices made their debuts in Round 6, with Craig Mitchell impressing the establishment with tenth place in the first race and eighth in race two.


Earlier in the evening Luis Velasco, making his return to the series for the first time since last season, powered to victory in Race 1 of the SWS Junior category by five seconds, with Kamal Agha storming through the field (after a lowly qualifying) to finish second.


Jakub Fitzsimmons came in third after a race long duel with Omar Aswat, Danny Shields, Haaroon Hassan and Patrick Debatista – the group separated by a couple of seconds as they crossed the finish line.




Top three in the SWS Juniors (L to R) second placed Luis Velasco, winner Jakub Fitzsimmons and third place Danny Shields


In Race 2, Fitzsimmons stormed into an early lead and pulled away from the pack early on, but Shields chased with impressive determination. The pair crossed the line side-by-side with the clocks showing the gap to be just 0.166 of a second with Fitzsimmons doing enough to take the race win. Seif Al Naggar was fourth, followed by Velasco in fifth, Agha sixth after a race long duel with Rashid Al Dhaheri.


With 73 points from the two Junior races Fitzsimmons did enough to claim a well-deserved first place overall - his first in the SWS Sprint Series, with Velasco two points adrift in second and Shields claiming the final podium spot.


Round 6 of the 2016 Kartdrome SWS Sprint Series takes place on 8 May.



- Lindsay Johnston, Total Communications Dubai also photos