(MENAFNEditorial) CG Racing made history at the Kartdrome this weekend as they wrapped up three titles to crown a remarkable season of the 2013 Endurance Championship driven by MINI.
CG Racing Pro - consisting of David Terrien, Alban Varutti, Piers Pakenham-Walsh and the Azzam brothers Rami and Ramez - overcame a potent field of 32 top teams from around the globe, to win the fourth and final race of the championship, racking up 1157 laps on their way to victory.
In the hotly contested Corporate Category, CG Racing 1 - with Oliver Saade, Julien Anaty, Maged Traboulsy, Patrick Katrib, Chadi Kaddouha on duty - powered to victory which was enough to take the title, with sister team CG Racing 2 - made up of Salem Salem, Omar Moukachar, Chris Oughourlian, Wael Moghraby and Mohammed Matar - finishing second on the day and with it claiming the runner-up spot in the championship. Third went to Team Emirates.
Nations Cup victory at the end of the 24 hours went to Dubai-5, an all Emirati outfit who also scooped the prestigious Spirit of Karting award for their efforts.
Although they did not win the final round of the Nations Cup, second place to CG Racing 1, featuring only Lebanese drivers, gave them the required points to seal the coveted title.
Third in the Nations Cup went to Russian outfit Squadra who were best of the foreign teams, finishing sixth overall and were awarded Best Newcomers for their efforts.
Timeless Events Racing - including Paul Chatenay, Alexandre Silanine, Phillipe Valenza, James Bean and Steve Lyall - must get credit for their relentless pursuit of the eventual winners. Early technical problems and a penalty compromised their challenge. But they refused to give up and second place overall was a just reward for their efforts, although they would have felt that victory was in their grasp.
It was heartbreak for the Dubai Falcons Racing Team - with Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Saeed Al Mehairi and Mohamed Al Mutawaa in the line up - who started the finale top of the points, but had settle for third after the 24 hours. The result saw them slide to second in the points standings.
At the end of a tough season CG Racing were all conquering thanks to supreme dedication and teamwork of the highest order. From the first round they were the organisation to beat, in all the categories. They overcame strong challenges in the Pro Category from Dubai Falcons and Timeless until the very end , but persevered to take the top prize.
With so much at stake in the final round, the CG Racing drivers and crew delivered to the letter, and thus made history to become the first single team to win a trio of titles for the first time in the nine years of endurance racing at the Kartdrome.
Post Race Quotes
Pierre Choueiri, team owner of all three CG Racing teams: "At the beginning of the season we set out to win all three titles - mission accomplished. The key to our success has been stability, pushing hard all the time and the passion behind winning. The team wanted to win this one because in the last round we did not achieve our goals. We learnt a lesson and turned things around in the best way possible. To our rivals I say well done and my advice is to work hard. We are beatable, it can be done but it's a question of preseverence and had work. There is no individual in our team. The one who stood out was: CG Racing."
David Terrien, CG Racing Pro captain: "It was great to win the final race of the season. We new we had to do it to win the championship and it was really a fantastic team effort. For me personally it is a long time since I won a championship. From a team perspective it has been hard work and commitment from everyone. This is a fantastic team effort. We had fun, but the key is that we all worked well together to win these titles. The team is so organised and dedicated to the cause. So this is a reward for these efforts. I am very happy."
Oliver Saade, CG Racing 1 captain: "Winning three titles is great. It feels great. We have worked very hard to get there. In the end we have a team of more than 40 people and it was a total team effort from the young office boy right up to the big boss. We set an objective and then worked hard to achieve this. It was a wholehearted effort. Really I am privileged to be part of this team and this organisation. I want to say that our rivals Dubai Falcons, Action Racing, Timeless Events they were all tough competitors and it is great to be part of this."
Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Dubai Falcons captain, "First, I want to congratulate CG Racing for a great job. They deserve to be champions and show that hard work can be rewarded. For us we were a little unlucky in the beginning. But credit to the team, we never gave up and finishing third in the final race is a good performance."
Ryan Trutch, Kartdrome manager: "Another great race and great season comes to an end. Big thank you to our team at the Kartdrome who delivered another hassle free event, the competitors who were very professional and as a result minimal penalties were dished out by the stewards. The calibre of driving was of the highest order. A big thanks of course to our sponsors Mini who have helped to make this possible."
Richard Birch, Dubai Autodrome, general manager: "I would like to congratulate CG Racing for a superb showing in the finale and they truly worthy champions who prove that effort and commitment is rewarded. To all the other the teams, drivers, crews and the staff at the Kartdrome I say well done in delivering another great endurance race and a tremendous season at our venue."
Results: Kartdrome 24 Hours, Round 4 of the 2013 Endurance Championship driven by MINI
Top Ten Overall
1. CG Racing Pro
2. Timeless Events Racing
3. Dubai Falcon Racing Team
4. Dubai 5
5. CG Racing 1
6. SQUADRA
7. CG Racing 2
8. Tracktalk Mediaboltz
9. Team Emirates
10. BFA Bank Pitstop Attack
Nations Cup Top Three:
1. Dubai-5 (UAE)
2. CG Racing 1 (Lebanon)
3. Squadra (Russia)
Corporate Category Top Three:
1. CG Racing 1
2. CG Racing 2
3. Team Emirates
Spirit of Karting:
1. Dubai-5
Best Newcomers:
1. GP Racing (France)
Links to high resolution images:
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Ramez Azzam crosses the finish line to win the Kartdrome 24 Hours for CG Racing Pro
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The all conguering CG Racing team drivers and support crew
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CG Racing Pro celebrate after winning the Kartdrome 24 Hours
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Nations Cup winners were all Emirati driver line up Dubai-5 (kart #24) here seen with thrid placed overall Dubai Falcons Racing Team (kart #11) on the parade lap at the end of the race
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Kartdrome 24 Hours winners CG Racing Pro (kart 15) on the victory lap with second placed Timeless Events (kart #10)
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