The fifth and penultimate round of the Champions of the Future Academy Program produced a fantastic spectacle from the first to the last race. In the United Arab Emirates, the fast-paced Al-Ain circuit was a perfect venue for the successful series organised by RGMMC. Overtaking, twists and turns, joys and disappointments... the drivers went through all the emotions, constantly giving their best in the Middle Eastern sun. We'll have to wait for the final round at Al Forsan from 2nd to 4th December to find out which drivers will be on the final podium of the Championship.

The pressure continues to mount!
The three categories, OK-N Senior, OK-N Junior and Mini 60, once again offered virtually full starting grids at Al-Ain from 15th to 17th November 2024. Drivers wishing to take part in the final event on the Al Forsan International Sports Resort Kart Track should register as soon as possible on the series' website. The competition is already shaping up to be extraordinary in Abu Dhabi, just a few days before the Formula 1 Grand Prix scheduled for Yas Marina, just a few kilometres from the karting circuit.

Georges Nassar - another OK-N Senior winner
Often fast, Georges Nassar hasn't always been successful this season. But in the middle of the desert, the local driver took his revenge by winning both races with great panache. On Saturday, he dominated the final, leading from start to finish. Behind him, the Lithuanian Markas Silkunas took just a few laps to dispatch the Mozambican Ghazi Motlekar and the Frenchman Charles Lambert to take 2nd place. Several drivers were aiming for a place on the podium. Motlekar was disqualified following contact with Frenchman Jean Karras, who was trying to take 3rd place from him. Frenchman Hugo Herrouin was rewarded for his intelligent race with 3rd place on the podium ahead of his compatriots Philippe Karras and Charles Lambert.

The following day, Nassar did it again after winning his duel with Silkunas, who lost several positions in the close battle. Poland's Maksymilian Rafalik spared no effort to overtake Luna Fluxa Cross for 2nd place. Forced to retire on Saturday, the Spaniard scored important points in the Championship, which she continues to lead by a substantial margin over Herrouin. Jean Karras, who started 29th, made an incredible comeback to finish 4th ahead of Italy's Sebastien Kawpeng.

Four wins for James Anagnostiadis in OK-N Junior
Having already won a race at Valencia and Franciacorta in the spring, James Anagnostiadis extended his lead in the series standings with clear victories in both races at Al-Ain. Twice, the Australian easily extended his lead over his rivals. On the first day, five drivers in the leading group disappeared at the first bends: Peruzzi, Gale, Silkunaite, Marshall and Pedrotti. Irishman Daniel Kelleher and Pole Kacper Rajpold managed to break away from a compact pack to fight it out for 2nd place, which went to Kelleher. Another group of five drivers followed, led by Nicola Stanley from the United States ahead of Conor Clancy from the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday, Clancy stepped up the pace again to finish 2nd, less than a second behind Anagnostiadis. UAE’s Nathan Kappen had put in a good effort to get back to 3rd ahead of Kelleher, but the two drivers fell back to 5th and 6th respectively due to penalties. Leonidas Peruzzi, also from the United Arab Emirates, took advantage of the situation to complete the podium ahead of the Filipino Aaryan, who had lost time when he made contact at the start.

Bruno collects points in Mini 60, Tamm wins again
The races were of a rare intensity for the young drivers, who were racing with identical equipment for all, as is the case in all the categories of the Champions of the Future Academy Program. On Saturday, the positions never stopped changing within an imposing field of seven drivers. Belgian Priam Bruno took the lead to win ahead of Switzerland's Albert Tamm. But a penalty for incorrect positioning of the front fairing saw Tamm drop to 13th. Nikita Dzhalilov regained 2nd place ahead of Italy's Nicolo Perico, who led the race for several laps and also won the U10 class ahead of two local drivers, Ava Lawrence and Achilleas Peruzzi.

On the final day, a group of six contenders for victory formed as the laps went by. But a collision eliminated three of them in one go: South African Aaron Mason, who had started 2nd, Estonian Mark Martin Loomets and Perico. Tamm took advantage of this incident to extend his lead and easily win Final 2. Bruno did very well in terms of Championship points, beating Dzhalilov. Several U10 drivers managed to catch up with the leaders, with Switzerland's Lorenzo Zucchetto leading his class ahead of Ava Lawrence from the United Arab Emirates and France's Mattis Brageot.

Provisional rankings

OK-N Senior

1 Fluxa Cross Luna (ESP) 565 points
2 Herrouin Hugo (FRA) 462 points
3 Silkunas Markas (LTU) 422 points
4 Karras Philippe-Armand (FRA) 412 points
5 Rafalik Maksymilian (POL) 337 points
6 Nassar Georges (ARE) 299 points
7 Motlekar Ghazi (MOZ) 241 points
8 Karras Jean-Paul (FRA) 234 points
9 Cegielski Franciszek (POL) 168 points
10 Woda Wojciech (POL) 160 points
...

OK-N Junior

1 Anagnostiadis James (AUS) 589 points
2 Clancy Conor (ARE) 463 points
3 Rajpold Kacper (POL) 453 points
4 Marshall William (ZAF) 389 points
5 Gale Toby (THA) 366 points
6 Hakkinen Ella (MCO) 217 points
7 Peruzzi Leonidas (ARE) 213 points
8 Vitver Matyas (CZE) 166 points
9 Stanley Nicola (USA) 156 points
10 Simons Torres Angelina (ESP) 155 points
...

Mini 60

1 Bruno Priam (BEL) 642 points
2 Tamm Albert (CHE) 452 points
3 Perico Nicolo (ITA) 430 points (1st U10)
4 Bobreshov Maxim (ARE) 278 points
5 Dzhalilov Nikita (-) 234 points
5 Feligioni Augustin (FRA) 234 points
7 Peruzzi Achilleas (ARE) 220 points (2nd U10)
8 Palacio Lucas (ITA) 218 points (5th U10)
9 Truchot Alessandro (ITA) 206 points
10 Capela Vicente (PRT) 181 points
11 Zucchetto Lorenzo (CHE) 160 points (3rd U10)
12 Lawrence Ava (ARE) 156 points (4th U10)
…

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