NEWS

Rashid Al Dhaheri and Kai Daryanani share spoils in prestigious F4 UAE Trophy double-header

Dec 09,2024

• UAE driver Al Dhaheri leads Formula Trophy UAE ahead of finale

• Victory in Abu Dhabi Race Two extends championship lead

• Daryanani takes victory in Race One after post-event penalties

UAE, December 8, 2024: Rashid Al Dhaheri extended his advantage in the Formula Trophy UAE standings on home ground in Abu Dhabi with a fifth place and victory in the two rounds supporting the Formula One season finale.

Driving for the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons Racing team, he actually took both victories on the road but he would lose his win in the first event following two post-race penalties that he picked up for incidents.

His demotion in Race One opened the door for Evans GP driver Kai Daryanani to be awarded the victory after his team-mate and on the road second placed finisher Reno Francot had picked up a five-second penalty for forcing Al Dhaheri wide in the first corner.

The results mean that Al Dhaheri holds a 27-point lead over Daryanani, with Gustav Jonsson of Pinnacle Motorsport three points further adrift, as the series returns to the Yas Marina Circuit for the finale in support of the Gulf 12 Hours on 13-14 December.

Race 1

Having taken pole position, Rashid Al Dhaheri did not get away well when the lights went out as fellow front row starter Reno Francot managed to pull his Evans GP car alongside the Mumbai Falcons Racing car ahead of the first corner.

As the pair went through the left-hander, Francot held the advantage but left no room for his rival on the exit – forcing Al Dhaheri wide which cost him momentum. That allowed the pursuing Kai Daryanani and August Raber to close in, before the trio ran three abreast down the back straight in a thrilling contest for position.

As they hustled it out, it was Daryanani who ended the first lap in second place but he was immediately put under pressure on lap two by Al Dhaheri, who made a move at the Turn 6 chicane – which ended up with both of them running wide as they chased leader Francot.

The Safety Car was then quickly called out after Champ Motorsport’s Cheng Meng spun at Turn 9 and his car needed to be retrieved – with the restart taking place on lap six.

Francot immediately found himself under pressure and on lap nine the lead changed – as Al Dhaheri dived to the inside to move to the front in a manoeuvre which forced his rival wide. As Al Dhaheri then set about trying to pull clear, Francot was able to follow him as they held a small advantage over then third placed Daryanani.

But while they crossed the finish line in that order, the final results would be shaken up by penalties that were handed out for rules infractions.

On the road winner Al Dhaheri would drop from the win to fifth place because of the two separate five-second penalties that he picked up. The first for forcing Daryanani wide at the chicane early on and the second for squeezing Francot off track at the hairpin as he took the lead.

Second place finisher Francot would also find himself dropped back after he too was handed a five-second penalty for having crowded out Al Dhaheri at the first corner.

This eventually handed the win to Daryanani, who was classified as the victor ahead of Francot and third placed Gustav Johnsson – who himself had gained a spot after August Raber dropped from fourth on the road to 10th because of a 10-second penalty for jumping the start

The shuffling of results meant Mumbai Falcons Racing driver Chi Zhenrui was eventually classified in fourth place, ahead of Al Dhaheri and AGI Sport’s James Piszcyk.

Race 2

With the Race Two grid drawn up from the second fastest time in qualifying, it meant that Al Dhaheri started from pole position once again from Francot and Daryanani.

This time, Al Dhaheri made the perfect getaway as he edged clear from his pursuers to lead clearly through the first corner. Behind him, Daryanani had made a better getaway to snatch second place from Francot.

Al Dhaheri made a break for it as behind him, Daryanani, Francot and Al Azhari were locked in a thrilling side-by-side fight down the main straight and chicane – with their jostling allowing Piszcyk to also get involved.

But it all went wrong for Piszcyk at Turn 12 on the opening lap when, getting involved in that battle for places, he locked up and spun – putting him to the back of the field.

At the front, Al Dhaheri was untroubled as he steadily eked out a gap over the pursuing Daryanani and Francot – who were never separated by more than one second as they came home second and third. By the flag, Al Dhaheri’s winning margin was 3.4 seconds.

The main excitement was taking place behind the top three as Raber and Al Azhari became locked in an intense battle for fourth spot. In the end this went to Raber, who had taken the spot on lap nine after a side-by-side move at Turn 9. However, he would be handed a post-race five-second penalty that would drop him to seventh.

That meant the eventual fourth place finisher was Kabir Anurag, who moved up from seventh to sixth on lap 10 when he passed Nicolas Stati at Turn 9, and then pulled off a nice move to overtake Al Azhari for fifth on the penultimate lap – before gaining another spot after the stewards’ decision.

Al Azhari eventually finished in fifth place, ahead of Stati, Raber and Chase Fernandez.

ABOUT TOP SPEED: Established in 2008, Top Speed has been intrinsic to the rapid development of motorsport across Asia Pacific over the last fifteen years. Providing a wide spectrum of services – from race organization, technical and logistical support to event and sponsorship management – Top Speed has played an integral role in the success of series such as the Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup, Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Porsche Sports Cup China, Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup, Formula Masters China Series and Scirocco Cup. In addition, Top Speed is the official promoter for the Formula Middle East Championship, comprised of the Formula Regional and Formula 4 Middle East Championships, and the Formula 4 South East Asia and Australia Championships, all certified by the FIA. It also enjoys a long-term, close cooperation with the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS.

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