Joseph Mawson of Australia raced to an impressive victory in Bahrain on Saturday evening as the curtain came down on a spectacular final round in the 2012 CIK-FIA U18 World Karting Championship.
Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) world-class VIVA Karting Tack was the venue for Mawson’s famous triumph, which was part of the motorsport history made over the weekend.
Bahrain further solidified its position as “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” hosting karting’s first-ever world championship-level event in the region and also the first-ever CIK races held at night.
Mawson was the star who shone brightest amongst the 34 “Legends of Tomorrow” who were competing in the Final Phase under a perfectly lit track in the Sakhir desert.
“Racing against these guys, who are best in the world, is always very tough. It was a very hard final race today; I just managed to pull something off in the end,” an elated Mawson said.
“I’m overwhelmed with the win, and it’s a fantastic way to end my first year in this championship.”
Meanwhile, the year’s final meeting of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy was also held in the Kingdom.
Thomas Michael Bale representing the UAE made it a memorable occasion by winning both races in the class.
Bale said: “I only live one hour by plane away from here, so this is the closest thing to a home race for me. It’s a great way to end the year!”
Joseph Mawson (Top Kart) triumphed in an exciting and eventful Final Race, which capped the weekend’s action in Bahrain and the 2012 season overall.
Starting from fourth on the grid, Mawson captured the lead on the eighth lap after a heated battle during the opening stages with pole-sitter Charles Leclerc (ART GP) and Briton Benjamin Barnicoat (ART GP).
Mawson staved off their challenges the rest of the way and finished the 22-lap sprint a narrow 0.150 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Barnicoat was 0.657s adrift to complete the podium finishers.
Federico Savona of Italy (Top Kart) was fourth (+0.696s), Sam Webster of Great Britain (ART GP) a distant fifth (+6.013s), and Martin Mortensen of Denmark (FK) sixth (+6.262s).
Russian Seva Gagen (Parolin) and Briton Henry Easthope (Sodi), who headed into the weekend’s events as championship leader, rounded out the top eight.
Charles Leclerc won the night’s opening 11-lap Pre-Final. The Monaco ace started from eighth on the grid but was able to climb to third at the end of the first lap. He wrested the lead from Aussie Joseph Mawson on lap four, and held on to the advantage until the chequered flag.
Leclerc triumphed 0.357s ahead of British teammate Benjamin Barnicoat, while his other teammate Ricky Collard, also from Great Britain, was third 0.515s from the winner.
Mawson finished fourth (+0.721s) and pole-sitter Graham, who had a horrendous start that effectively cost him his precious advantage, was fifth (+1.124s).
The second Pre-Final saw Martin Mortensen of Denmark follow in Leclerc’s footsteps by taking the race victory in the second 11-lap Pre-Final.
Mortensen was 11th on the grid but had a good first two laps to move up to fifth. By lap eight, he was up to second before snatching the lead from Russian Seva Gagen on the penultimate lap.
Mortensen took the chequered flag 0.273s ahead Gagen, while Ville Mantyla of Finland came third (+0.871s).
Frederik Schandorff of Denmark was ranked fourth (+1.460s), while Leclerc capped the top five (+1.581s).
Leclerc’s fine performances in both Pre-Finals earned him pole for the season-ending Final Race. Mortensen earned the second starting position, with Barnicoat and Mawson making up row two.
In the world championship’s season-ending B Final, pole-sitter Abdulla Al Thawadi (Swiss Hutless) of Bahrain and front row mate and compatriot Adeeb Kuzbar (Swiss Hutless) failed to capitalise on their leading starting positions and make them a podium finish.
Al Thawadi immediately lost his lead at the start, while Kuzbar, who took over in first, succumbed to hard-charging German Luka Kamali (Zanardi) on lap seven. Kuzbar continued to drop back and finally finished in fifth.
Kamali won the 15-lap event 0.791s ahead of Tuomas Tujula (Haase-Corsa) of Finland while Oman’s Sanad Al Rawahi (DR) stepped onto the podium for third place 2.192s behind.
Kuzbar was 3.998s from first place, while Al Thawadi fell back all the way to 13th (+5 laps).
Bahrain’s third entrant in the B Final was Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa (Swiss Hutless). He had a strong showing, finishing 12th (+21.281s) despite starting second from last in 19th.
Matthew Graham had earlier topped the world championship’s Qualifying Heats after winning all four of his races in the session. The Qualifying Heats concluded late Friday night.
Joseph Mawson was second with one victory while Anthoine Hubert was third.
Bahrainis Abdulla Al Thawadi and Adeeb Kuzbar narrowly missed out on making the top 34.
Al Thawadi was 35th overall by the end of the Qualifying Heats while Kuzbar was 36th.
Their results helped them lock up the front row on the starting for the world championship’s B Final and a chance to appear on the podium in their home race.
Thomas Michael Bale representing the UAE made regional motorsport proud this evening by winning both hotly contested races in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy.
Bale put in a masterful drive, starting from 12th on the grid but gradually made his way to the front. A good start saw him rise to eighth by the end of lap two, and by the sixth lap was already up to third.
The Welsh-born driver stole the second position from Russian Alexander Maslennikov on lap 12, and then on the very next lap stormed to the lead at the expense of Joonas Lappalainen of Finland.
Bale eventually finished 0.359s ahead of Maslennikov on the final classification.
Martin Ellegard of Norway rose to third 1.295s behind. Lappalainen (+1.369s) had to settle for fourth and Martjin Van Leeuwen of the Netherlands was fifth (+1.843s).
Race Two saw Bale start in the lead thanks to his earlier victory, and once again he took advantage.
Showing off his class, Bale never relinquished his lead despite the best efforts of Frenchman Erwan Jule.
Jule was the runner-up 0.209s behind, while Van Leeuwen improved on his earlier result by taking third 1.541s back.
Swede Lina Von Schedvin (+3.325s) finished fourth and was the quickest amongst the girls, while Belgian Benjamin Lessennes (+6.236s) was fifth.
Also on Saturday evening, Italian Mattia Drudi claimed the academy trophy’s B Final. He had a tough battle with Sindre Johnsen of Norway who finished 0.372s behind, while Swiss Felix Hirsiger rounded out the podium 9.171s from first.
Bahraini youngster Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was classified eighth overall. He completed the 15-lap sprint 26.773s behind Drudi.
Prior to today’s Final Phase in the academy, George Russell topped the Qualifying Heats after winning two of his three races held late Friday night. He therefore clinched pole position for Race One.
Joonas Lappalainen was second with one victory, while Erwan Jule of France came third.
Bahrain’s Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa qualified for the B Final.