The qualifying session of the race was stopped, and restarted due to failure in the timing system.  In the 2^nd run, Omar Farrah was in pole position with his teammate Izz Bustami on the first row for the start of the pre-final race.  Abdullah Bustami was less than 0.2 sec behind Izz, which placed him in 3^rd place on the grid. The Lebanese participants Chant Etyemezian and Yousef Jammal took the 4^th and 5^th places leaving Mamdouh Abu Hassan behind, who was doing super great for his first race ever! By the end of the qualifying session, the stewards decided to penalize Abdullah Bustami by starting from the back of the grid as his kart was exceeding the maximum width of the kart by 5 millimeters.

The race started very smoothly and the first two drivers started to widen the gap as in the previous races.  Abu Samra, 2008 Middle East Juniors Champion, proved that he’s full of talent and fought to climb from 9^th place to finish in 3^rd position! Chant Etyemezian had an incident with his fellow citizen, which forced him to drop from 3^rd place to 5^th. Abdullah Bustami showed spectacular performance by moving from the back of the grid to 5^th place were his race ended due to an incident with Ayah Doughlah. Abdullah Gokahshaw getting better and better and achieving better times in each round! In the final round he broke the 40 seconds barrier to set his fastest time and place himself in 7^th.

After the pre-final race, the scrutineers reported some karts to have extra grease on their clutches. The stewards decided to be fair and asked all examined karts to clean the clutches before the start of the final race.

The final race started with very high competition unlike all starts of the series. The top 5 drivers were back to back with positions changing. Abu Samra with many attempts to overtake Izz Bustami gave the chance to Omar Farrah to make a little gap.

Few laps after the start, an accident involving Mamdouh Abu Hassan, Ahmad Abdelkhliq and Yousef Jammal made the organizers issue the red flag to stop the race. The stewards decided to put the race on hold and transport the injured drivers to the hospital where they had medical check and they all turned to be fine.

The juniors race had an accident on the start which forced Nafe Jarrar who was in pole position to retire. This left Ghassan Abu Hassan to fly and mark his first victory followed by Noor Doughlah and Faisal Abu Hassan.

Before the stewards decided to suffice with the pre-final results only and cancel the final race for the seniors, they had another decision to make. It involved un-sportsmanship behavior of team manager regarding the race director and the organizing team, which resulted in excluding team. Drivers affected were Omar Farrah, Izz Bustami, Abdullah Gokahshaw and Ahmed Abdelkhaliq. Accordingly, all their results on the 3^rd round of Ramadan Karting Challenge will be cancelled giving the pole position to Chant Etyemezian and the race victory to Othman Abu Samra!

Winners of Round 3:

Seniors

• Othman Abu Samra
• Chant Etyemezian
• Yousef Jammal

Juniors

• Ghassan Abu Hassan
• Noor Doughlah
• Faisal Abu Hassan

Overall winners:

Seniors

• Othman Abu Samra
• Abdullah Bustami
• Omar Farrah

Juniors

• Nafe Jarrar
• Ghassan Abu Hassan
• Roubens Bouchabkeh

For detailed results please visit the results page.

The organizers had to delay the start of the event because of failure in the timing system. In the qualifying session, Omar Farrah marked his 2^nd pole position in the series and Izz Bustami came in 2^nd followed by Othman Abu Samra and Abdullah Bustami. The start of the race was smooth and all drivers passed the first lap without any accidents. Farrah took the lead, but this time with lots of pressure from Izz and Othman being right behind! Abu Samra’s injury didn’t stop him from setting the fastest time on track! Saif Abdelhadi was next, followed by Abdullah Bustami who set the 2^nd fastest time.  Terry Farah managed to maintain her 5^th position. Abdullah Gokahshaw did a great job and moved up from 9^th place to finish in 6^th. At the end of the pre-final race, the scrutineers reported Abu Samra’s kart to be exceeding the maximum overall width of the kart, therefore the stewards decided to penalize him by placing him in the last position for the pre-final race. Mike Sharaiha couldn’t start the prefinal race as engine broke down in the qualifying session.

The start of the final race witnessed 2 accidents of the first lap which forced Abdullah Bustami and Tery Farah to retire on Turn 1, Saif and Yousef Abdelhadi on Turn 2! Othman Abu Samra had a great start and managed to climb from the back of the grid to the 3^rd position! Few laps later he decided to leave the race because of sever pain in his back. Omar Farrah again was leading, but Izz Bustami was on head-to-head battle with him. Izz was insisting on taking the lead but all his attempts failed. When the organizers showed the 3 laps remaining sign, Izz had to use all what he have to win the race. On lap 22/23, he pushed to hard and managed to take the lead from Farrah to finish the final race in the 1^st place! The retirement of many drivers came into other drivers advantage! Ahmad Abdelkhaliq makred his first podium result and finished 3^rd place, followed by Abdullah Gokahshaw and Christian Atnas.

The juniors race started with Roubens Bouchabkeh in the first place, but not for long. The Ramadan Champion for the past two years Nafe Jarrar was there to take the lead and mark his 2^nd win this year! Ghassan Abu Hassan followed the leaders smoothly satisfied with his position.

For detailed results please visit the results page.

Great start for teammates Omar Farah and Izz Bustami. Izz was super fast in the official practice leading by 1 second and maintained his lead to take the pole position. Omar Farah was in 6^th place in the official practice, but managed to put himself in the 2^nd place on the starting grid ahead of Abdullah Bustami and Othman Abu Samra.

On the start of the pre-final race, Omar and Izz maintained their positions, but Omar managed to overtake his teammate and finish in first place and setting the fastest lap. Othman Abu Samra had a bad start and moved back to 8^th place, but he was quick enough to overtake the drivers ahead and gain his position back. Terry Farah won the battle for the 5^th place keeping Yousef Jammal and Carl Masaad behind. Ahmad Abdelkhaliq and Abdullah Gokahshaw were competing on the 8^th and 9^th places. Ayah Doughlah spun on turn 1 where her race ended.

In the final race, again, Omar and Izz took the lead to finish the race in 1-2 for the team. Othman Abu Samra and Abdullah Bustami had a smooth start and finished their race in same position, 3^rd and 4th. The Lebanese drivers Yousef and Carl managed to overtake Terry to finish in 5^th and 6^th places. Ayah Doughlah who started on the back of the grid finished her race in 8^th place ahead of Ahmed Abdelkhaliq and Abdullah Gokahshaw.

The juniors’ race was great! New regulations allowed 14hp engines and the juniors were flying! A great battle on the first place between Nafe Jarrar who was in pole position and Roubes Bouchabkeh, which ended for Jarrar after the scrutineering report! Ghassan Abu Hassan was satisfied with 3^rd for his first race! Noor Doughlah had a smooth race and finished in 4^th place.

For detailed results please visit the results page.

In the final race, Saif Abdelhadi had an excellent start and placed himself in 2^nd place which he also finished in. Muammar was left on the outside and lost his position to Abdelhadi, and few laps later he was also passed by Izz Bustami. Terry and Omar again were in the same battle which Omar won.

The new comers Ahmad Abdelkhalik and Yousef Abdelhadi finished in 7^th and 8^th places.

In the juniors’ race, Nafe Jarrar was able to break his own record and set a new time for the juniors to beat! He started in pole position and flew to win the race. Roubens Bouchabkeh started and finished his race in the 2^nd place. Farah Zakaria who was in 3^rd place, spun on the first turn on the race and Noor Doughlah bumped into her which made both of them retire. Walid and Tala Farah finished the race in 3^rd and 4^th places.

By the end of the event, Eng. Amer Al Bashir crowned the overall winners for the Ramadan Karting Challenge. Sukhtian won the title; Nabih Muammar came in 2^nd and Saif Abdelhadi 3^rd. In the juniors’ category, Nafe Jarrar – who won all the 3 races – was crowned champion, followed by Farah Zakaria and Noor Doughlah.  Terry Farah won the ladies cup and Ahmad Abdelkhlik the beginners’ trophy.

On the final race, Tarek also kept his position till the end and added another victory to his list of wins. Again, Saif Abdelhadi and Nabih Muammar fought for the 2^nd place but this time with Nabih winning the battle. Izz Bustami left the competition due to technical problems keeping the 4^th place to Terry Farah who was being attacked by Omar Farrah. The new driver Ahmad Abdelkhlik did a better job than his first race in the last round and finished in 6^th place followed by Shadi Al Bahou.

Ahmad Sukhtian also left the race as well as Sanad Shannak and Yousef Abdelhadi who did not start the final race.

In the juniors’ race, Nafe Jarrar took it all. He started in pole position, won the race and broke the track record for junior drivers.  The 2007 Jordan Champion Farah Zakaria finished in 2^nd place followed by Noor Doughlah and Faisal Sukhtian. Omar Abdelkhalik couldn’t start the race due to technical problems.

Round 2 – Qualifying
Round 2 – Prefinal
Round 2 – Final

Round 3 – Qualifying
Round 3 – Prefinal
Round 3 – Final Results

Overall Points

2010 Results for Seniors and Juniors:
Final Results – Round 1
Final Results – Round 2
Final Results – Round 3

In the official practice, Tarek Sukhtian was the only driver who could break the 38 seconds and scored 37:980. However, the following 5 drivers were all within less than a second behind.

Sukhtian also got the pole position in the qualifying session followed by Nabih Muammar and Omar Farrah who was running on a Rotax engine for the first time.

Before the start of the race, the organizers decided to cancel the pre-final race and go directly to a 20 laps final race due to electricity problems.

The start of the race went very smooth. Sukhtian and Muammar maintained their lead and Saif Abdelhadi jumped to 3^rd position. Terry Farah proved once again that she’s one of the fastest on the track and placed herself in 4^th position.

Four laps before the end of the race, Nabih Muammar managed to take the lead from Sukhtian and marked his first win!

Three new drivers joined karting races in this event. Ahmad Abdelkhalek finished in 8^th place, Yousef Abdelhadi in 10^th and Abdullah Said who retired.

In the Juniors race, the battle was between Nafe Jarrar who started in pole position and the former champion, Farah Zakaria. Farah had a better start and lead the race halfway through, but Jarrar insisted on taking his position back and finished in the first place.

Click on the link below for full results:
http://www.jordan-karting.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Results-Rd-1.pdf

Ramadan Challenge is a series of three night races that will be held on each Thursday of the month at the Jordan Speed Center circuit. Drivers of all ages are welcomed to participate in the challenge. Drivers will be divided into categories depending on the power of their engines as the following:

Juniors Class
Age : Up to 12 years old
Engines : Up to 12 hp

Seniors Class
Age : 13 – up
Engines : Rotax MAX, Vortex ROK, FA/ICA

_______________________________________

Calendar:

Round 1               : 11 August
Round 2               : 18 August
Round 3               : 25 August

All events will start at 10:00 pm at the Jordan Speed Center Circuit.

_______________________________________

Past Years Winners:

_______________________________________

Media Coverage:

Ramadan challenges of the past years were highly coved by the local papers, magazines and TV. The Ramadan Challenge is the only karting night-race series in the region and always has a huge number of participants and spectators. For the 2011 challenge, we are working on have a greater exposure by having media partners for the events.

The regulations and entry forms are available on our download page. For more information, please contact us at info@jordan-karting.com.

Before the start of the qualifying heats, Dirani gave a brief introduction to the children about karting in general and driving skills. He spoke to each group separately about safety measures followed when driving and then offered them advice and tips on driving and achieving a good time. 

At the end of the day, the winners had a ten laps race with Dirani and the top three winners were given trophies.

Special thanks go to Jordan Speed Center and Dai’aa restaurant for their kind support to this event.

In the juniors race, the battle was between Roubens Bouchabkeh and Nafe Jarrar. They were very close at the qualifying session, but the Lebanese driver started in pole position. Three laps before the end of the race, Jarrar managed to take the lead and win the race.

Please check the results page for full race results and overall standings.

Overall Points

Results of pre-final race:
Saif Abdelhadi, Terry Farah, Tarek Sukhtian, Nabih Muammar, Ahmad Sukhtian, Yazan Hamada, Sanad Shannak, Izz Bustami, Faisal Bustami (out).

In the final race, Terry also was competing for the first place, but she couldn’t keep up her pace for 25 laps.  Jordan Champion Tarek Sukhtian took the lead later but after a long battle with Terry and Saif.

Faisal Bustami who started again from the back of the grid kept on pushing hard and finished his race in 4^th place setting the fastest lap for the race. Nabih Muammar who was unreachable in the official practice had a very bad start; his spin on the first lap dropped him to the last place. But he was much quicker than the rest and did an excellent job climbing back to the podium in 2^nd place.

Ahmad Sukhtian, leader of 2009 Open Karting Challenge had a very bad start and decided to end his race early. Sanad Shannak went off the track and couldn’t rejoin the race. Izz Bustami had technical problems and was below racing speed; the organizers had to disqualify him from the race.

In the junior’s race, the Lebanese driver Roubens Bouchabkeh was in control. He started his race in first place and flew away to win the race. Tala and Walid Farah, younger sister and brother of Terry, came in 2^nd and 3^rd.

At the end of the race, Bank of Jordan Team Manager was very happy from the result and said that the race was very well organized and he is looking forward for the next round.

Final Results:
Tarek Sukhtian, Nabih Muammar, Saif Abdelhadi, Faisal Bustami, Terry Farah, Yazan Hamada, Ahmad Sukhtian (out), Izz Bustami (out), Sanad Shannak (out).

Dates of OKC:
Round 1: 9 July
Round 2: 23 July
Round 3: 1 October
Round 4: 10 October

The regulations and entry forms are available on our download page. For more information, please contact us at info@jordan-karting.com.

Under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Feisal Al Hussein, the chairman of Jordan Motorsport, the inaugural WRC rally was well run, stunning to watch and was hailed a success by teams and drivers. After a year out in 2009 the event returns this year with a few modifications but the same epic character.

This is a rally of extremes. From scorching temperatures – which can top 40 degrees Celsius – to the wild landscape the sandy gravel stages snake through. The headquarters and Service Park are located next to the Dead Sea at the lowest land point on earth, 50km away from the Kingdom’s capital city of Amman.

This year some of the 2008 stages have been modified and others replaced altogether in an effort to introduce more variety to the route, which starts in the forests north of Amman at altitudes of more than 1000 metres, then concentrates in and around the Jordan Valley at around 400 metres below sea level.

New for 2010

Two events for the price of one. The 2010 Jordan Rally counts as a round of both the FIA Middle Eastern Rally Championship and the World Rally Championship.

A revised itinerary. The timetable of the Jordan Rally follows the Islamic weekend by finishing on a Saturday as opposed to the traditional Sunday.

A ceremonial start at the City of Jerash – one of the largest and best preserved examples of Roman architecture in the world.

General Information:

Round 3 of the World Rally Championship

Categories: WRC, P-WRC, S-WRC

Based: Dead Sea Centre

Surface: Gravel

Most recent winner: Mikko Hirvonen (2008)

Rally website: www.jordanrally.com

For our events, we have created a new page that has the dates to keep all the karting fans updated with the races and results.  After each event, our photo gallery will be updated with new photos provided by Karaz Photos (www.karazphotos.com).

If you have any inquires regarding karting in Jordan or our business, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@jordan-karting.com.

For our events, we have created a new page that has the dates of our event to keep all the karting fans updates with the races and results.  After each event, our photo gallery will be updated with new photos provided by Karaz Photos (www.karazphotos.com).

If you have any inquires regarding karting in Jordan or our business, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@jordan-karting.com.

Jordan Karting & Jordan Speed Center will be organizing for the 3rd year the Ramadan Karting Challenge. The challenge will be consisted of three rounds, on each Friday starting the 4th of September. The races will be open for both juniors and seniors drivers to compete in. All the round will take place at the Jordan Speed Center circuit. Please find attached the regulations, entry form and the scrutineering card. The races schedule will be as the following:

For further information please contact us at info@jordan-karting.com.



Saif Abdelhadi was leading the race with Sukhtian and Marabeh on his tail. Marabeh went off the competition because his rear protection was loose and he had to enter the pit to repair it.

Abdelhadi came in first place in the pre-final race, followed by Sukhtian and Haitham Quqa.

In the final race, Abdelhadi and Sukhtian had a very good start, but Nabih and Mahmoud were able to follow and also compete for the top positions. Abdelhadi’s chain went off and his race was over on the 15th lap.

In the back, four drivers were in a battle for higher positions. Haitham Quqa and Terry Farah for the 5th, Haitham overtook Terry when the blue flag was waving, so he got penalized one position back in the final results. Ali al Fayez and Izz Bustami were fighting for the 7th place till the last lap of the race.

In the juniors race, Nafe Jarrar came in pole position, but had technical problem on the start of the race. Hisham Najjar, son of the rally champion Ameer Najjar, took the lead for the first laps of the race but Jarrar insisted on the first place. Walid and Tala farah came in 3rd and 4th.

Jordan Karting and the Jordan Speed Center will be organizing a new karting challenge that will start with its first round on Friday the 24th of July 2009. The challenge will be open for junior and senior drivers to compete in.

Calendar of the OKC:

Regulations and entry forms will be available to download at www.jordan-karting.com and www.jsc-kart.com

For more information please contact us.

For the first time worldwide Ghibli Raceway International organized the Final Round of Middle East Karting Cup 2009 as the night race. Ghibli Raceway already finalized its preparation for MEKC 2009, which is going to be organized as the night race from 9th till 11th of July, 2009. An official committee of FIA-CIK headed by Dr. Frans Schreiner is expected to visit Ghibli Raceway track ten days before the event to check all the preparation works for the night race. “We are very happy to observe such preparation at the FIA-CIK approved track as we are going to see for the first time worldwide FIA-CIK karting night race and we are very proud of it. Earlier we saw official night races in Moto GP at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar in 2007 and in Formula 1 race in Singapore in 2008.

Hany Soufrakis, Chairman of Ghibli Raceway, said: “We wanted to organize the final race of MEKC 2009 championship as the night race to assure the international level and image of Ghibli Raceway International Karting Track, which has been opened for drivers since 2000. In 2004 Ghibli Raceway track hosted the World Finals of ROTAX Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF), which we are going to organize again on its 10th anniversary by the end of this year. In addition, organizing the night race of MEKC 2009 will support the tourists’ attendance from Sharm El Sheikh, assure the high entertainment for the fans of the karting sport and make new challenges for the participating drivers to win the championship.

Except the professional drivers from nine countries, the final round of MEKC 2009 will host many celebrities and famous sport stars (both Egyptian and Arab), especially at the final day of the championship when the winner of MEKC 2009 will be announced. The official Gala Dinner of the championship organized on July 12, 2009 at Sofitel Hotel will finalize all the karting activities of the season with announcement of the plans for the future concerning MEKC 2010 championship. The Gala Dinner will be a good chance to honor all the winners of the event in addition to federations and sponsors who provided their support of MEKC 2009 championship, especially Tropicana Hotels & Resorts Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Air as the official carrier of the championship, official representatives of ATCE and EFMS, the Governorate of South Sinai, Egyptian Tourism Ministry, Egyptian Tourism Authority, and all other sponsors and media representatives.

It was known that the (MEKC ‘09) is the only international karting championship in the Middle East, which comes approved by International Federation of Motor Sport (FIA) and the International Federation of Karting (CIK), in addition to support from the Automobile and Touring Club of Egypt (ATCE) and the Egyptian Federation for Motor Sport (EFMS), as well as by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Authority of tourism.

The first round of the championship, which has been in Sharm El-Sheikh during the month of December last year had witnessed participation of 14 (Seniors) drivers, and 6 (Juniors) drivers, however, that the participation of the Palestinian Team for the first time had been one of the most pleasant surprises of the championship, which is the for the participation of the Saudi team, presented by Prince / Faisal Al Saud.

On the other hand, the Egyptian / Libyan team appeared with top driving scales  during the first round, in which the Egyptian Driver / Tarek Khedr within the category of (Seniors) to achieve the second place behind Italian piero de Marchi, while Egyptian / Ahmed Ghanem to achieve the third place.
As for the (Juniors), Libyan Driver / Hassan Soufrakis achieve first place in the first round followed by a second, the Syrian / Yazan Hamadah weighing and behind them in the third place the Libyan driver / Salahelddin Tatanaki.

The second and third rounds for the first time globally organized as night races in Ghibli Raceway, as well as organizing a charity race for great group of Arab and Egyptian celebrities.

During the race, Ahmad Sukhtian was in pole position and led the pre final race till the end. Tarek Sukhtian had some problems and wasn’t as fast as expected for the finals. Mohammad Bustami had a very bad start where Sanad Shannak had a better one and placed himself 3rd for the half of the race, but Bustami managed to gain his position again.

In the final race, Sukhtian brother were leading and Sanad once again had a good start and placed himself 3rd. Bustami had a bad start again, but this time he was passed by all the drivers.  During the race Bustami was the fastest and went up again to 3rd position. He needed one more point only to be the youngest driver to win the Jordan Karting Championship!

Race 5 Results:

Overall Championship Standings

On race day of the opening round of the Middle East Karting Cup, Ghibil Raceway International Circuit dawned bright with a cool, crisp feeling in the air. Everywhere around the paddock, the low murmur of voices  were heard as the teams quietly set about the day’s preparations. One could easily sense the energy of what was about to take place, for this was the most serious of days at the opening round.  The morning track action started with the Junior warm up to be followed by the Senior class. For most drivers it was a time to do last minute checks and make adjustments to settings. However, there were still many drivers making wholesale changes to their karts in an apparent way to find more speed. While a few drivers we talked to said their kart was fine, they just wanted to take a few laps to burn off some nervous energy.

The Junior Pre-Final got underway exactly on time and featured what is arguably the most talented field of young drivers in MEKC 2009. In the 20-lap race none of the leaders ever had a safe margin to second place. And at the checkered flag, the top three were covered by less than a second. In the end it ended as expected with Hassan Soufrakis came in a strong first position followed with Yazan Hamadeh and Dino Tatanaki respectively.

At the beginning of the seniors pre-final Tarek and Peiro were competing hard in a race of their own with each lap having its own story, behind them were former Egyptian champion Ahmed Ghanem Zidan followed by Mauro Paterni and Mohamed Medhat. This battle for top position ended with Piero coming in first followed by Tarek in second position and Ghanem coming in third position.

Between the Pre-Final and the Final is a chance for all drivers at the event, those still in competition and those out, to don their driving suits and make way onto the front straightaway for the drivers parade. This is one of the biggest moments of the weekend as it creates a very colorful spectacle. After the festivities of the driver’s parade were over, it was time to get down to what everyone had anticipated all week, the Finals.

In the 20 lap Juniors final race, Libyan Hassan Soufrakis claimed the title of the first round improving himself since the first day of the championships scoring a time of 1:03.556 min. followed by the Syrian Junior, Yazan Hamadah with a Time of 1:03.639 min. for the best lap time, and Libyan Dino Tatanaki in third position.

In the Seniors Final race, it was again all about the two round contenders with Piero De Marchi in pole followed by Tarek Khedr on his tail leading the pack of 14 karts into turn one.  For the next 24 laps, we were treated to one of the best 2-kart races for the lead we’ve ever seen.  Nobody had enough fingers and toes to count all the passes among the top two.  It ended with Italian Piero De Marchi winning the title of the first round of the championship after fierce competition with Egyptian Tarek Khedr, who lost his leading position in the last two laps, achieving the best lap time of 1:01.984 min. while Tarek best time was 1:02.077 min., third-place went to former Egyptian master driver Ahmed Ghanem Zidan with a best lap time 1:03.168 min whom was loosing ground to the impressive sole female racer of the round, Wary Tatanaki whom was only slightly off the pace of the Piero & Tarek with a best lap of 1:02.788.  A racing incident occurred whilst she tried to overtake Ghanem meant she was out of the race at turn 3 at half race distance.

As per championship tradition, a post round press conference took place at the Grand Azure Hotel of Tropicana Hotels and Resorts Group, the main sponsor of the championship was attended by representatives & officials whom supported of the Championship (Egyptian Automobile and Touring Club, the Egyptian Federation of Motor Sports, the Egyptian Tourism Authority and of course, the organizer of the event Ghibli Raceway), As well as the presence of all the contestants and winners of the Round and also representatives of the sponsoring companies.

Everyone spoke about their happiness of the results of the championship and about their hopes for the coming rounds, while members of Egyptian & Libyan National Karting Team and their manager – Engineer. Zeyad Abu Eita spoke with gratitude about Ghibli Raceway’s support for the generous sponsorship and effective organization of the round overall.  Zeyad also commented about the future prospects for the team which has now become an effective force in the championship and are now expected to dominate the 2009 championship.  This dramatic performance increase and professional approach was noted by all including the championship series Clerk of Course, Rod Taylor, whom noted that the top juniors were now approaching the standard of top European kart drivers.

It is hard to describe in words what it was like to be at the Middle East Karting Cup.  I would recommend to anyone involved in motorsport that, if they get the chance, go to a Middle East Karting Cup round.  Piero De Marchi, the champion of the opening round stated “there may be bigger racing events, but the specific nature of this glamorous up and coming CIK-FIA sanctioned event, the driver’s pride in representing their country and the great racing, superb circuits and entertainment make this the best motor racing event we have attended.  For our local Rotax drivers, keep working at it and you too could be one of the lucky ones to make it to the Rotax World finals one day through the Middle East.”

Hany Soufrakis expressed his hopes for the coming rounds of MEKC 2009 championship in increasing the number of participating countries confirmed to attend the 2nd and 3rd rounds in United Arab of Emirates next March 2009, particularly with drivers from the UAE, Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, as well as from European countries namely Austria & the United Kingdom.

He also thanked all the authorities & sponsors of the championship whom helped make the event happen led by Tropicana Hotels and Resorts which hosted the championship participants, guests, drivers and representatives of the organization committee. Additionally, of special note was Egypt Air, the official carrier of the championship as well as by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourism Authority.

Top three drivers are fighting for the championship lead with one point only between each of them.  Mohammad Bustami, Ahmad Sukhtian and Tarek Sukhtian, all desperately need the first position 12 points to take the lead.

Championship current leader and Ramadan Champion, Bustami was fastest in the qualifying sessions and placed himself in pole position ahead of Sukhtian brothers, Anwar Malas, Sanad Shannak, Othman Abu Samra and Mohammad Abdeen.

On the start of the pre-final race, Bustami easily maintained his position and flew to widen the gap. The 2007 champion, Tarek Sukhtian, overtook his brother on the first turn of the race, but Ahmad was faster and regained his 2nd place on the 6th lap and started to widen the gap as well.

Anwar Malas faced technical problems and had to leave the race. Othman Abu Samra was racing for the first time on the ICA engine and on the RACJ circuit, was fighting for 4th place with Sanad Shannak who was defending his position. Abdeen did not start in the pre-final because of technical problems.

After the pre-final race, Tarek Sukhtian says “Yesterday I was much faster, the kart is not handling well and I am not being able to push to the maximum.”

On the final race, Mohammad again maintained his first place and won the race to extend his championship lead! But this time with much more pressure from Tarek Sukhtian with two attempts to take over the lead. Ahmad Sukhtian spun on turn two and lost 3 laps before he restarted!

Malas mounted his spare engine, but again faced a technical problem and forced him to leave the race. Abu Samra put much more pressure on Shannak this time and tried to overtake him but he spun off.
Race winner and championship leader Mohammad Bustami said “It was a great race! Everything was running perfect! Many thanks to my sponsors Jordan Karting and Makaseb. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Hamza Dirani and Emile Azar for the great support!”

Faisal Bustami and Mahmoud Dajani were not able to take part in this race as they have travelled for university.

Overall race results:
Mohammad Bustami                      Jordan Karting / Makaseb
Tarek Sukhtian                                  Bank of Jordan
Sanad Shannak                                Bank of Jordan
Mohammad Abdeen
Ahmad Sukhtian                  Bank of Jordan

Overall Standings:

Karaz Photos was created by Hasan Dirani, a young photographer (18 Years old).

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Hot battle for the 2nd place was between Saif Abdelhadi, Faisal Bustami and Faisal Abdelhadi. The three drivers were so close with less than a second between them all.  Faisal Bustami’s kart flipped and he had to leave the competition on the 9th lap.

Mohammad Bustami who was fastest in the official testing led the race and flew to widen the gap with no competition around. Marabeh, sponsored by Al Nahda Press, was able to overtake many drivers and finished in 5th place behind the promising driver Hashem Tabbaa who showed big improvement during the Ramadan Challenge.  Ahmad Sukhtian’s car stopped at the beginning of the race, but he also managed to restart, but finished last.

Pre-final race results:

Mohammad Bustami, Saif Abdelhadi, Faisal Abdelhadi, Hashem Tabbaa, Mahmoud Marabeh, Anwar Hamdan, Nabih Muammar, Izz Bustami, Abdullah Bustami, Othman Abu Samra, Omar Bustami, Ahmad Sukhtian.

Final Round:

The final round starting grid was according to the pre-final results. Mohamamd Bustami kept his first place, but this time with a very high competition behind. Saif Abdelhadi, Faisal Abdelhadi and Mahmoud Maraba were all on Mohammad’s tail. Top four drivers were so close, so fast, they all break the record of the track!

Anwar Hamdan lost control and spun, but he managed to restart and follow the drivers ahead.
On the 9th lap, M Bustami started to widen the gap slightly, because the level of competition was very high and driver wouldn’t leave him alone! Ahmad Sukhtian did a good job overtaking the drivers to reach Abdullah Bustami and fight with him for more than 6 laps for the 5th place.
On lap 17 – out of 25 – drivers leading the race started to overlap the slower drivers. 3 laps before the end of the race, Faisal Abdelhadi had to leave the race because his rear protection went off. Mahmoud Marabeh has set the fastest lap and broke the track record (35:682).

Final Results:

Mohammad Bustami, Mahmoud Marabeh, Said Abdelhadi, Faisal Bustami, Ahmad Sukhtian, Abdullah Bustami, Anwar Hamdan, Izz Bustami, Haitham Quqa, Othman Abu Samra, Omar Barakat, Omar Bustami.

Juniors Race:

Hamza Bustami was fastest in the qualifying session, followed by the first round winner Omar Bdour, Nafe Jarrar in 3rd place and Terry Farah 4th.
Juniors’ race was delayed because it started to rain. But when the ten laps race started, Hamza Bustami maintained his first position and flew to win the race. 2nd place was for Omar Bdoor, Nafe Jarrar 3rd and Tery Farah last.

At the end of the race, the rally champion, Maarouf Abu Samra, gave the winner the trophies and prizes. Prizes for top 5 winners were presented by Bridgestone Tires, Liqui Moly oils and Jordan Speed Center.

Final Results for Ramadan Challenge after 3 races:

Mohammad Bustami was crowned champion for the 2008 Ramadan Karting Challenge after strong competition with Mahmoud Marabeh who proved himself. In the 3rd place came the 2007 Ramadan Champion, Faisal Bustami.

The juniors champion was Hamza Bustami, the younger brother of the seniors’ champion! In 2nd place was Omar Bdour and Nafe Jarrar 3rd.

Pre-final
When the series creator – Hamza Dirani – waved the Jordanian flag to start the pre-final race, Mohammad Bustami easily maintained his lead. Mahmoud Marabeh and Faisal Bustami overtook Ahmad Sukhtian who finished the pre-final race in the 7^th place. The youngest driver in the Seniors Category, Abdullah Bustami, did a great job and finished in 4^th place. Middle East Champion Othman Abu Samra finished in 8^th place ahead of Izz Bustami. Many drivers had to retire from the pre-final race due to technical problems.

Final Race
The starting grid of the final race was according to the results of the pre-final race, so Mohammad Bustami was still starting in the first place. M Bustami was not satisfied with being first only, he flew to widen the gap between him and the field and set a new track record! Al Nahda Press driver Mahmoud Marabeh and Faisal Bustami were fighting for the 2^nd place during the 25 laps of the race, but Marabeh got the position.  4^th place went to Hobby Center with Saif Abdelhadi, followed by Ahmad Sukhtian.  The stewards of the race disqualified Faisal Abdelhadi because he pushed Mazeen Al Khatib off the track and ended her race.

Race winner was satisfied with his result. “It was a perfect race! It was easy to maintain my position but I decided to keep on pushing to widen the gap. I am looking forward to the final race of the series.  It great to be on the podium in all the races this year! I’d like to thank my team for all the hard work! ”
At the end of the race, Mr. Maamoun Shalabi and Mr. Hasan Tabbaa gave out the trophies and prizes to the race winners. The prizes were presented by Bridgestone, Liqui Moly and Jordan Speed Center.

Juniors Race
The younger brother of race winner, Hamza Bustami, qualified in pole position followed by Farah Khaled Zakaria and Omar Bdour who was racing for the first time. When the race started, Farah took the lead and Hamza dropped to 4^th place on the first turn, Nafe Jarrar became 3^rd. Hamza managed to overtake Nafe and the stewards penalized Farah by ten seconds because of her jump start.

Juniors’ final results:
Omar Bdoor, Hamza Bustami, Nafe Jarrar, Farah Zakaria, Terry Farah.

Ammar Hijazi in the pace car

Special thanks to Al Mimari Rally Team. Ammar Hijazi led the formation laps of the race with his Subaru N14 Rally Car which he will be using to participate in the upcoming Jordan International Rally.

Most of the drivers tested their karts in the official practice session (Wednesday night) where the local championship leader, Mohammad Bustami, was fastest followed by the 07 Ramadan Champion Faisal Bustami.  In the 3rd place came Anwar Malas, the 07 Rotax Champion. Winner of the first round Mahmoud Marabeh did not test in the official practice session as well as Ahmad Sukhtian who had technical problems in his kart.  Haitham Quqa was fastest in the Rotax Class and 5th in the overall standings.

Last year’s series winner, Faisal Bustami, is satisfied with his time during the official practice. “I drove to the limit today and I was the fastest till Mohammad broke my time in the last few minutes of the session. During the race it’s going to be different, I will be running on new tires which will make me much quicker”.
Mohammad Bustami changed the setup of the kart to get better grip and said that there is still more to give. “I had a bad tire choice in the first round which resulted in being slower by one second. Now we’ve changed the setup of the kart and the tires are working much better. The engine is running perfectly and I still have more to give, many thanks to my mechanic Emile Azar”

The top five winners will be awarded with prizes from Bridgestone, Jordan Speed Center and Liqui Moly.

During two rounds scheduled for July more than 30 drivers from 9 countries (seniors and juniors) will compete for the champion title of MEKC 2009. Winners of this championship will be able to join World Finals of Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) to be organized at Ghibli Raceway International Karting track from 5th till 12th December, 2009.

The upcoming Round 2 of MEKC 2009 will take place at Ghibli Raceway International Karting track in Sharm El Sheikh from 2^nd till 4^th of July and Round 3 (final round organized as night race) will be from 9^th till 11^th of July. Best of karting race drivers from Middle East and European countries are ready to compete for the MEKC 2009 champion title. According to the regulations of the championship, the best points from two best rounds out of three are to be counted for the overall results of the championship. In such a way, those who missed Round 1 still have a chance to bring good results in Round 2 and 3 in order to win the championship, which have been scheduled as follows:

More than 30 drivers from 9 countries will participate in Round 2 and 3 of MEKC 2009, including Lybia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, Cyprus, Italy, Great Britain and Egypt. Final two rounds of MEKC 2009 championship will include the best karting champions, such as Chant Etyemezian from Lebanon, Nicos Demetriou from Cyprus, Ahmed Sukhtian from Jordan, Edward Jones and Maurits Knopjes from UAE, Hassan Soufrakis and Salah El Din Tatanaki from Lybia, and Ahmed Ghanem and Tarek Khedr from Egypt. These champions have very good potential to assure the success and international level of MEKC 2009, which slogan is “Inspiring Future Champions”. By the nearest future it is expected that MEKC championship will be one of the most recognizable international karting championships around the world.

Preparation for the second and final rounds of MEKC 2009 required several international shipments, which at the moment exceeds more than seven international shipments containing karts, spare parts and required tools of the participating drivers. Large shipment of Ghibli Raceway has been imported recently for the new karts and new tires for the championship after the new regulations created by FIA-CIK to identify new specifications for karts in case of safety and required equipments. Those new karts according to the latest regulations will be used in MEKC for the first time at Ghibli Raceway International Karting track and the whole Middle East area.

The final round of the championship will be night race, which is for the first time in karting sport in Middle East. Earlier official night races have been organized in Moto GP at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar in 2007 and in Formula 1 race in Singapore in 2008. Except the professional drivers from nine countries, the final round of MEKC 2009 will host many celebrities and famous sport stars (both Egyptian and Arab), especially at the final day of the championship when the winner of MEKC 2009 will be announced. The official Gala Dinner of the championship organized on July 12, 2009 at Sofitel Hotel will finalize all the karting activities of the season with announcement of the plans for the future concerning MEKC 2010 championship. The Gala Dinner will be a good chance to honor all the winners of the event in addition to federations and sponsors who provided their support of MEKC 2009 championship, especially Tropicana Hotels & Resorts Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Air as the official carrier of the championship, official representatives of ATCE and EFMS, the Governorate of South Sinai, Egyptian Tourism Ministry, Egyptian Tourism Authority, and all other sponsors and media representatives.

Round 1 of MEKC 2009 championship organized in December 2008 in Sharm El-Sheikh included 14 senior drivers and 6 junior drivers. One of the main pleasant surprises of the championship was participation of the Palestinian team and Saudi Arabia team presented by Prince Faisal Al Saud. The Egyptian and Libyan teams showed the top driving results during the first round, where Egyptian driver Tarek Khedr (senior category) achieved the second place behind Italian driver Piero de Marchi while Egyptian driver Ahmed Ghanem achieved the third place. As for Juniors, Libyan driver Hassan Soufrakis achieved the first place during Round 1 followed by Syrian driver Yazan Hamadah and Libyan driver Salah El Din Tatanaki accordingly.