The first weekend of the month kicked up a lot of dust at the Dubai Autodrome, when the Round 5 of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK was played out to an exciting finish. The race
The race heats up...
saw highs and lows for a number of drivers and some of the most spectacular racing seen so far in the Middle East’s only factory-backed race series.
The UAE’s Humaid Al Masaood and Italy’s Patrick Zamparini took a win each during the 30minute races in the afternoon, but it was Lebanon’s Joe Ghanem who triumphed the most over the weekend as he secured enough points to clinch the overall Trofeo Championi prize for the 2011-2012 Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series.
UAE’s Humaid Al Masaood and Patrick Zamparini came 1st in the first and second races respectively while Faisal Shaker from KSA came in second in the first race and Joe Ghanem in the second. Lebanon’s Zeehog finished 3rd in both.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon’s Joe Ghanem and Patrick Zamparini clocked the fastest times of the day in the two qualifying sessions. Both drivers capitalized on this great position during the first of the afternoon’s races with Patrick Zamparini taking the chequered flag after Joe Ghanem retired due to a puncture incurred after contact with the Italian driver. This resulted in both drivers being excluded from the race and demoted to the back of the grid for Race 2. For Humaid Al Masaood, this meant an unexpected victory in his first outing in the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK with Faisal Shaker from KSA taking 2nd and Lebanon’s Zeehog finishing 3rd in Race 1.
Zeehog leaving the pitstop at the start of the race
After the drama seen in Race 1, the second of the day’s races was no less exciting as both Ghanem and Zamparini quickly overcame their penalties and worked their way through the field. With the sun setting over the Dubai Autodrome at the end of Race 2 it was Patrick Zamparini who took the 1st position after a clean and clinical drive with Joe Ghanem following in close company. Zeehog received his second 3rd position of the day with another sterling effort.
Joe Ghanem’s helmet resting after the race. Leading the point tally, Ghanem will be switching the headgear for the champion’s crown in the series.
The Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series makes its way to Yas Marina Circuit for the final round on March 22nd-23rd 2012 where the drivers will have one last chance to add to their points tally.
You can follow the action on facebook.com/MaseratiME and on the dedicated twitter account @TrofeoJBFRAK. Detailed race results are available on Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK section of www.maseraticorse.com
