The first round of the 2013 Lebanese karting championship inaugurated yesterday with Michael-Patrick Azar proving himself a fierce competitor in the Max category by clinching victory after an interesting battle with Patrick Njeim.
The introduction of new category rules this season helped Matthias Njeim dominate the Junior category; he was up against younger drivers, including his own brother Christopher.
In the Max category, Michael-Patrick Azar looked very quick, and with a set of fresh tyres in the final race, he attacked the leading Patrick Njeim which resulted in a collision. Azar took the lead thereafter, while Njeim dropped to second.
When asked about the collision, Patrick Njeim said: “Yeah, it was a racing incident, I did not leave him enough room going into the corner, so he hit me.”
Michael-Patrick concurred, the eventual race winner said: “I had fresher tyres in the final race so I was able to brake later than Patrick. I think the collision between us was a simple racing incident.”
Karl Massad benefited from Njeim’s misfortune and closed in on his rival; he was right on his tail for a few laps but simply didn’t have the pace to overtake, Massad then fell back as the race progressed.
“I couldn’t keep up with Patrick for long because I had too much grip at the back; I was too slow to compete at the front, but I can definitely challenge for the win in the upcoming race if my grip problem is fixed.” explained Massad.
Matthias Njeim controlled the Junior category; he started from pole and maintained an unrivaled lead throughout the race. Matthias was last year’s Junior category champion, the highest-ranking category for 2012, but the new rules in 2013 put it below the new Max category, which has become the top-ranking category.
“It was an easy win for me. Unfortunately the new rules this season are forcing me to compete against the little ones. ” said Njeim.
Matthias’ younger brother Christopher Njeim successfully fended off pressure from Christophe Rizk to take second place; Njeim struggled on some parts of the track which allowed Rizk to keep up at times, but Rizk was ultimately never a threat and finished third.
Rizk tought that Matthias Njeim “was a on different level, but I managed to keep up with Christopher and I think I can challenge him in the next races.”
The second round of the championship is scheduled on Saturday 11th of May 2013, and we’ll be there for the usual coverage; stay tuned!