UAE National Racing // Touring Cars // Round 5

Coming off the last round it looked like things might be starting to get a little predictable on the Touring Car grid – the SEATs of Al Mutawaa, Simmonds and Bin Khader running around in a class of their own in Class 1 with the Lap57 cars of Omran Al Owais, Umair Khan and Aslam Moola set to dominate in Class 2, with a mix of Mohammed Al Mutawaa and Jason O’Keefe just a tick back, followed by everybody else.

Not that there’s anything bad or unexciting with predictability in this case – the drivers in question have been having some awesome scraps among themselves and in general predictably means that we’ve got a lot of cars performing reliably and consistently, which speaks volumes for how far local motorsports has come in just a year or so. It’s great to be wrong sometimes though, as Round 5 provided more than its fair share of surprises along with the harsh, sweet competition we’ve come to expect from these guys.

Let’s Dive in then!

Stop press: Big thanks to Darren Rycroft (www.anysportphotos.com) Sir Mike Bale of “Killer Shot” (http://dxbimages.zenfolio.com) and Leigh Evans (www.leighjevans.com)for the lens work this weekend.

Without them it just wouldn’t have happened.

Jonathan SIMMONDS
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The race-within-a-race, multi-way duel between the SEATs is always something we look forward to seeing, with the combination of three very aggressive drivers, from three of the top local teams, in three very quick and identically matched SEAT Supercopas, going at it tooth and nail every round and never failing to provide a great battle and a new winner almost every time out.
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This time around it was DXB Racing driver Jon Simmonds’ turn to rule the day, emerging as the leader and eventual victor in Race 1 before slowly walking away from his rivals again in Race 2. Not that this didn’t happen without any challenges – Khalid bin Hadher battled his way into P1 at one point in Race 1, while Khalid Al Mutawaa managed the same later on in the race, eventually falling back from Simmonds’ SEAT, but never too far behind to be a threat.
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Nonetheless, a solid double from Simmonds and a nice chunk of extra championship points in the bag.

Khaled AL MUTAWAA
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By the lofty standards that TAM Auto Engineering driver Khalid Al Mutawaa holds himself to, he could almost have been said to have had a bad day, especially with a disqualification from the second race due to a datalogger malfuction.
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Still, out on the track Al Mutawaa the Older, more than made his presence felt in both races, pressuring Jon Simmonds closely in Race 1 and managing a pass for P1 at one point, before ever so slightly falling behind in traffic.
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Race 2 saw another great drive as Khaled drove a very tactical race to keep in touch with a charging Simmonds, keeping himself well within striking range in case of the slightest mistake or opportunity, even if he couldn’t manage to maintain bumper-riding distance this time around.
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The aforementioned datalogger malfunction resulted in the dissapointment of dropping 3 GRID places, but nonetheless it could be much worse, as Al Mutawaa continues to maintain a lead in terms of overall championship points. This means we’ve got lots to look forward to as the season winds down!

Nader ZUHOUR
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Nader Zuhour made a special appearance in the Auto Trader-sponsored SEAT Supercopa and seemed quite content to try and chase down the quicker trio in front of him all day without getting in anyone’s way.
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Obviously this car isn’t as finely tuned as the top 3 contenders are at this point in the season, but the steadily quick out-of-the-box pace of Nader’s SEAT was nonetheless good enough to grab P2 in the second race. Surprise!

Phil McGOVERN
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Our own C&P Golf GTI had a fine day out on the track, with the headline grabber being the Golf’s first Class 1 podium finish as Phil grabbed P3 in race 2.
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First blood for Project GTI then! More importantly though, the C&P car, back on the track for the first time after suffering a shunt in Round 4, was running at its best pace ever throughout the day with zero issue – just a second or two behind the top SEATs and a good margin ahead of the monster Hondas in Class 2.
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Impressive show then, considering that unlike the ready-to-race factory build SEAT cars, this particular car is very much a one-off, locally-built machine which wasn’t much more than a flickering figment of Phil’s imagination less that 12 months ago.
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Glad to see the C&P Golf showing some potential then, and there should be more to come as the car gets truly dialled in and Phil makes his way down his doodad wish-list for the car (which is a very short and responsible one – officially – just in case Ms. Phil is lurking around these parts).

Khaled BIN HADHER
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Definitely a bad day for Khalid Bin Hadher this time out, no questions asked. Bad, as in no-brakes and DNF bad. Although Top Performance Primo Bin Hadher, got off to a great start, briefly fighting his way to P1 in front of Khalid Al Mutawaa and Jon Simmonds, it was not to be.
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A near-total brake failure saw Bin Hadher pull off a pretty scary save as his brakes vanished coming off the straight and into T1, as well as some hairy moments as he nursed the car back to pit lane whilst the rest of the field zoomed past.
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Apart from a small shunt with Aslam Moola’s car, luckily no major damage or injuries, so all that’s left to do is look forward to the next round where we’ll hope to see Bin Hadher back in his usual fighting form.

Class 2

Umair KHAN
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A double win by Umair Khan isn’t exactly news in and of itself since we’ve seen it before, but somehow Umair always manages to throw in the most bizarre twists that make for great stories.
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After a stint in Lap57’s FN2 Honda Civic sedan endurance car last round, Umair was back in his trusty old EG Civic this time. Qualifying saw disaster strike the little Honda though, as it popped a motor and didn’t manage a time, forcing Umair to start from the back of the grid with no qualifying time. 20 minutes later though, the motor from the team’s FN2 car had been grafted in and Umair made the grid.
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Come race time, Umair sliced and diced his way quickly through the field from dead last to second place, after which he and teammate Omran Al Owais began a multilap nip and tuck duel for P1. No team orders here then, as Umair passed Championship leader and teammate Omran to take P1 in Race 1. In Race 2, with the car still miraculously loving its newly transplanted heart, Umair charged off into the lead and eventually managed the hat trick as teammate Al Owais retired with mechanical issues and the next quickest cars being just slightly out of striking distance. Crazy, lucky or talented guy this Umair – we’re not sure! Maybe all of the above.

Omran AL OWAIS
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Coming off a dazzling battle with Aslam Moola in Round 4, which saw both Aslam and Omran take a win apiece, Lap57’s other star driver again emerged as the cream of the crop early on in Round 5. Only teammate Umair seemed to have the sheer pace to catch up in Race 1, with whom Al Owais indulged us with a great battle for the win.
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Got to admire a team who aren’t afraid to play with one another instead of just parading around and collecting points! Omran and Umair looked set to run away in Race 2 as well, however almost as soon as the green flag fell on Race 2, Omran’s car was seen limping past the start-finish line, eventually appearing in the pit lane to retire with a mechanical issue. Still on top in the Championship, we have no doubt that Lap57 will be able to do their usual Honda magic to get Omran back up to pace again for Round 6.

Essa BIN HADHER
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We’ve spoken before about Essa’s speed but he always seems to be coasting into the pits before the chequered flag for one reason or another. Surprise! Not this time – not only did Essa finish both races, he also decided to demonstrate just how quick he is, grabbing a best-of-the-rest third spot in Race 1, behind the two Lap57 cars, and then repeating with a strong performance in Race 2 to grab 4th.
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We love seeing people grow and make their mark in this sport, so seeing Essa not only finish his first races but also take home some silverware this time around, brings us a huge smile. A Top Performance from Essa then, who stands to be a major player in the coming races if he keeps this finishing-the-race stuff up.

Spencer VAN DER PAL
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If you’ve been following racing for as long as we have, you’ll immediately recognize Spencer as one of the ‘usual suspects’ on the race roster. He haunted us in an Evo, then flaunted before us in a Clio before snapping himself up a Honda toy for this season: a meticulously built endurance spec EP3 Civic in this case. Spencer’s fortunes haven’t been so hot this year though, as he’s been struggling to extract the speed and reliability from his new toy while a2b teammate, Jason O’Keefe, stole all the podium glory in a similar looking, yet lower spec car.
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We’ve seen flickers of potential in a few races already this season though so we’ve always wondered if and when Big Spence would emerge. Well, after some close racing with Essa Bin Hadher and teammate Jason, in Races 1 and 2, Spencer bagged himself a nice P4 finish in Race 1 and a splendid P2 in Race 2, managing to also finally oust his teammate in both races. Most interestingly was the pace observed in Race 2, where the a2b cars seemed to be able to keep pace with Umair Khan’s previously uncatchable monster Civic. Things that make us go hmmmmm!

Jason O’KEEFE
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Considering he’s driving one of the more straightforward, less modified Hondas on the grid, Jason’s been having a great season so far, already having grabbed more than a few podium spots for himself and putting his a2b Garage on the map, in the process. This time around Jason was again back in fine form, ending up with a P5 in Race 1 and a P3 podium finish in Race 2, after some good scrapping with teammate Spencer Van Der Pal’s car.
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Consistency continues to pay off then, as the field has continued to shift around the steady running a2b car. We’re big fans of reliability, consistency and good driving but part of us wonders whether Jason might eventually give in to the nuclear arms race going on under the hoods of the Class 2 cars, given the dilemma of extra speed vs. the potential reliability pitfalls. Still, he’s probably the only guy on the grid running STOCK!

Aslam MOOLA
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After giving us the thrill of the season last round with his battle for the win with Omran Al Owais, it seems Aslam ran into a few snags this time around in the form of a surprise shunt from the ailing SEAT of Khalid Bin Hadher in Race 1: this seemed to suck away some of Aslam’s rhythm. Given the level of competition these days, it’s hard to recover from stuff like that, but Aslam gradually recovered his composure and pressed on with the work at hand, scratching his way back up to P4 behind the on-form Essa bin Hadher.
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Race 2 saw Aslam end up in P5 though, partly due to some shuffling at the start of the race and possibly partly due to traffic. Of course, it’s also possible that the car’s setup was affected during the shunt, which would explain the P5 just as well as the increased pace of the competition. Aslam’s already made his mark as a player though and we know the car’s P1 level fast, so this game isn’t over just yet.

Mohammed AL MUTAWAA
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The Younger Al Mutawaa found himself struggling farther back in the grid that he’s been used to so far this season, and we’re not quite sure why. Plenty of new competition in the pack is one explanation but we couldn’t help notice that the TAM Auto Engineering Clio was taking a strange, close-to-the-pit-wall line down the main straight on seemingly every lap which suggests that there may have been some mechanical issues with the car as well.
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In any case, Mohammed adapted himself just fine to a defensive posture, managing some pretty good battles with the likes of Zlatko Mulabegovic, Jason O’Keefe, Aslam Moola and pretty much just about everyone on the grid at one point or another, ending up with a P7 in Race 1 and a P6 in Race 2. Against a hungry and ever improving grid, it ain’t ever easy going, even for talented drivers.

Zlatko MULABEGOVIC
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Finally some Castrol Bronze back in the pits as Zlatko brought his primary weapon back into play – we think with a new, less elaborate motor setup than he was running at the beginning of the season. It seems that Hondaphile Zlatko, being a big fan of the B18C motor, has gone back to basics and the combo of a mildly breathed on B18 in a well set up Integra chassis is a proven match.
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The Old Man fared pretty well this time out too, engaging in some very entertaining battles with the Clios of Mohammed Al Mutawaa and John Iossifidis as other challengers came and went.
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It might not be the quickest car on the grid at the moment, but you don’t mess with The Zlat lightly when he’s on form and all indicators seemed to show that Zlatko was indeed going for it this time out, rather cunningly sweating off a few extra pounds of liquid during the races for additional weight saving!

John IOSSIFIDIS
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Second time around for John Iossifidis this time, and he seems very much at home on the TCC grid, driving clean races and keeping up a very respectable pace. We’re guessing that the intention here is something along the lines of gradual improvement as John seems to be focusing on solid driving, as opposed to becoming entangled in wheel-to-wheel battles with each and every car that comes his way on the grid. This is the stuff it takes to survive and prosper on this grid and John seems to fit right in; a welcome addition of a very clean car and a good driver. We’re watching you, John!

Phil ANSON
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One of the more philosophical gents on the grid, Phil’s been working all season to slowly but surely shed time by tinkering with the bits that many of the other racers neglect – namely car setup and driving skills.
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Not in the sense that a new driver would be working on driving skills mind you; Phil’s already got plenty of experience, so in this case we’re talking about someone trying to shed the odd tenth and hundredth here and there the methodical way. Seems to be working too, as Phil’s heavily-ballasted car seems to be nearly as quick as it was last year in non-ballasted form, sans engine modifications. This time around, Phil got busy chasing down John Iossifidis in the newer model Clio 197 Cup and Simon Dennis in his Golf GTI Cup car, while fending off other grizzled track veteran Mike Scott’s also-improving Astra.

Mike SCOTT
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Back again in the Astra, Mike Scott seems to be playing an interesting game of catch-up with Phil Anson’s Clio with the Clio seeming to have the edge on the straights and the Astra apparently faring quite well in the twisty bits.
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Not sure what Mike’s ultimate game is in terms of world domination, but he’s steadily sorting the car out to the Nth degree and the Astra’s been running strong all season long. Bonus points for being the only Opel we know of doing so well in competition in these parts; this car (as we may have mentioned more than a few times before) deserves a feature all of its own on C&P someday.

Simon DENNIS*
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Simon’s actually technically driving a Class 1 car so he doesn’t technically belong here but we’re taking a bit of poetic license with the technicalities in order to better reflect Simon’s true on-track experience which, given his pace and his car’s lack of monstrous characteristics in terms of modifications, seemed to put him in a nice and comfy spot, slicing and dicing with the Class 2 cars all day long. It was Simon’s first time out in TCC and the regular Golf GTI Cup cars are far from monsters in stock form, so we’re pretty content summing up Simon’s run as being very competent – no heroics, no major mistakes, just good fun. Hope to see Simon back out to play next time!

Johnny FORSTER
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When we say we’ll be watching somebody, we mean it! After a rough start and a non-finish last time out, Johnny Forster’s “budget build” Integra stumbled again in Race 1 but got its first race finish in Race 2.
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The real news here is that we finally have a good indication of potential though, as Johnny ended up smack-dab behind veteran driver Zlatko Mulabegovic in Race 2.
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That’s nothing to sneeze at when you consider Zlatko’s experience and how well his car is developed; for a newcomer on the circuit to come so close to a respected veteran on the scene in a similar car gets two thumbs up from us. We also swear we saw Johnny up as far as P4 alongside Essa Bin Hadher at one point in Race 1, before the yellow JG Motorsports Integra’s axle let go. Interesting indeed!

Mohammed BIN GHANNAM
Rough going this time around for Mr. Bin Ghannam, as his own Top Performance monster Civic suffered from some unknown mechanical issues. This is one combo to keep an eye out for though – we’ve seen Mo (hope you don’t mind us calling you “Mo”, Mo) around for quite a few races, in various cars, but in this case he’s driving what has proven to be a potent recipe – the newer Honda K20 type motor in an older EK style chassis. Add in plenty of carbon fibre bits and a very nice job on the build and you have our attention, Sir! Just need to get those bugs sorted out!

Rupesh CHANNAKE*
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Rupesh is another driver not technically in Class 2 (by virtue of his car running a 1.6 litre motor) but sort of belongs there in spirit, given that he’s punching above his indicated fighting weight, keeping the Class 2 cars of Mike Scoot and Simon Dennis company. Close to keeping Phil Anson company at one point as well, if it weren’t for Phil hitting the afterburners… As another driver running a budget effort, Rupesh is calmly taking some experience points and honing car and driver, before plotting his next move.

In other news…

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Interesting happenings in the Suzuki class, with 9 cars apparently showing up to play this time. Among the names on the Suzuki roster this time around was a certain Costas Papantonis, who you may remember as the former TAM Auto Engineering/House of Portier SEAT driver from last year, and was right at the pointy end of the UAETCC grid.
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A rather talented driver then, and in case anybody wants to have a shot against this level of talent, you might want to keep in mind that Costas actually won both Suzuki races this round, edging out far-from-slow (and former Susuki winner) driver Balazs Galotti, for the win.

theshadow

UAE National Racing // Touring Cars // Round 5

Phil McGovern

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