Patrick Njeim closed in on the 2014 Lebanese Karting Championship title as he won the fourth and penultimate round at the Pit Stop Karting track in Zouk this afternoon. Patrick took advantage of a mistake from his brother Matthias during the final race to take an easy win and extended his lead in the championship.
Joey Hajj drove a great race to third place. Having started last, Joey overtook Michael Kanaan and Karl Khadra, before benefiting from a collision between Karl Massaad and Samer Matar, to move up to P3.
Massaad and Matar’s accident came late in the race, forcing the pair to settle for sixth and seventh respectively, while Khadra and Kanaan crossed the finish line fourth and fifth.
Patrick Njeim: “I had a pretty good start from second place in the pre-final race, and I managed to lead the race from lap 1. Matthias then caught up to me and he got past in the last lap, so I finished second, which is fine for me. In the final race I had a clean start, stayed second. A few laps into the race, my brother overshot the braking point and went to the other side of the track, so I overtook him and then I was just trying to keep my position.”
Matthias Njeim: “In the pre-final race, I moved up two positions on the start after qualifying fourth. I then caught up with Patrick and overtook him on the final lap. I was leading the final race when a few laps in I got on the apex and locked, which sent me on the opposite side of the corner, and I dropped back to last. I managed to overtake Micheal, Karl [Khadra] and Joey, but I lost a lot of time behind Joey. Afterwards, Samer and Karl [Massaad] hit each other which gave me the chance to finish second.”
Joey Hajj: “I had a tough pre-final race. I was as fast as the guys in front, but I spun while trying to overtake the guys ahead, so I had to settle for last position. However, my final race was great. I moved past Karl Khadra and Michael Kanaan, and I took advantage of the collision between Karl [Massaad] and Samer Matar to finish on the podium.”
Max – Final race results:
01. Patrick Njeim
02. Matthias Njeim
03. Joey Hajj
04. Karl Khadra
05. Michael Kanaan
06. Karl Massaad
07. Samer Matar