Batelco make triumphant return

Winners Batelco leads second placed CG Racing Pro during the Kartdrome 12 Hours. — Supplied photo

It was a classic case of ‘Veni, vidi, vici’ for Batelco as they powered to a thrilling victory in the Kartdrome 12 Hours, Round 1 of the Endurance Championship driven by Mini, while reigning champions CG Racing 1 took top honours in the Corporate category and victory in the prestigious Nations Cup going to the all Emirati team Dubai-5. A mix of 30 top professional teams and amateur outfits gathered for battle in the season opener.

Batelco lived up to Julius Caesars famous ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ quote as the multiple Kartdrome endurance champions opted out of last year’s championship to focus on racing abroad. They returned this year with their powerful line- up of Mohamed Mattar, Alban Varutti and Ramez Azzam led by team manager Ali Abbas. But it was not plain sailing for the Bahraini team who were fortunate to benefit from a mid-race safety car situation, when a fast section of the track needed to be repaired after a driver collided into the retaining tyre wall. He was not seriously injured. At that point Batelco were chasing CG Racing Pro who had set a blistering pace from qualifying onward.