The final round of the 2012/13 Radical Winter Cup run by AUH Motorsports at the Yas Marina Circuit saw a virtual repeat of the previous round where Car #1 of Jordon Grogor was forced to start from the back of the grid in both races due to him missing qualifying.
However it was smiles all round for SR3 driver Tarek Elgammal who took the overall crown as the 2012/13 Radical Winter Cup Champion.
Pole went to the SR8 of Tony Wells after clocking a 59.291 second lap from fellow Brit Richard Sykes with 1:00.045. SR3 class pole was again the domain of Elgammal in third place outright from season-long rival, Mohammed Jawa of Saudi Arabia.
While Elgammal got off to a great start carving his way through on turn one, Grogor was also on a charge taking three places before turn one and moving into third after just a few laps. However the South African, Dubai resident was handed a drive through penalty for a track infringement relegating him to seventh.
Bad luck too for John Marshall who retired with a fuel pipe problem just before the pit window opened but at the end of the day it was a 7.26 second, lights to flag win for the Tony Wells/James Littlejohn car from Grogor who drove the race solo and the number 21 Richard Sykes and Charlie Kemp car.
The SR3 win went to Elgammal in fourth from Maurice Faber in fifth and Jawa sixth outright.
Race two was a repeat affair with James Littlejohn starting from pole position from Charlie Kemp while SR3 pole went to the John Marshall/Rob Wheldon car after the fastest lap set by Elgammal was excluded for a track infringement.
Grogor again started from the rear and once the lights went out he forced his way through into fifth before the first corner.
Wheldon got off to a flyer and along with teammate Marshall drove a brilliant race which rewarded them with a well-deserved win in the SR3 category.
“It was a nice feeling after a long season and being forced to retire in race one. I’m very happy with that result,” Marshall said.
Elgammal fought his way through the pack, enjoying a strong race with Jawa but lost time in the pits with his longer compulsory pit stop due to his higher grade licence, then spun as he tried to get past the Saudi driver once more.
Wells and Littlejohn took another convincing win from Grogor and the Richard Sykes Charlie Kemp combo in third while the Al Nusif brothers from Kuwait finished second in SR3 with Elgammal third in class.
“This has been a rollercoaster season with some seriously strong competition along the way but full credit to the guys who worked tirelessly on my car, my co-drivers during the season and AUH Motorsport,” newly crowned champion, Elgammal said.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better result.”
SR8 Class
1/ Jordon Grogor 112
2/ Bassam Kronfli 99
3/ Abdulrahman Al-Thani 79
SR3 Class
1/ Tarek Elgammal 230
2/ Mohammed Jawa 161
3/ Maurice Faber 122
Teams:
1/ GR8 (Saudi Arabia) 155
2/ Lucco Racing 125
3/ Maurice Faber 124