March 13th, Friday was a very lucky day for Liberty Kawasaki’s Ross Runnals and KTM’s Jake Shipton as they won the overalls for both MX1 and MX2 classes. This tandem win was realized in the deserts of Jebel Ali which played host to Round 6 of the DMX Championship Series. It was business as usual for both riders as they swept clear wins in both motos to keep their standings intact. Whilst the MX1 class only had six competitors it was a highly contested battle with the fighting for the top spots throughout the race.
In the 85cc class, Barbaglia (SRG Portable Shade Husqvarna) and Kefford (KTM UAE) chased hard with Kefford leading the two up to the 4th lap, Barbaglia took the lead on the 5th only to surrender his position in a well-executed block pass by Kefford in the penultimate lap. Barbaglia had been racing the last half of the race with his clutch hanging down which was a testament to the grit the two are showing every time they are on the track. MX2 was just as fast but it was a Barbaglia show this time around leading from lap 2 through to the checkers.
The 65cc class was Yurajsinh Kondedeshmukh’s time to shine winning both motos by over 8 seconds with Ahmed Alwaimi and Faisal Al Busaidi rounding out the podium. The Masters class was led by Mark Ackerman (SRG Portable Shade Husqvarna) with 2 holeshots with Janne Tuohino (KTM 350) and Shannon O’Connor (Balooshi Racing KTM) swapping positions late in the motos with Shannon finishing in 2nd overall and Janne in 3rd. The Clubman class was once again the Wyngard (KTM UAE) show with clean wins in both motos.
Throughout the day, the temperatures hovered in the mid to late 20’s and that, combined with the strong breeze made for very mild and enjoyable conditions for the racers to compete in. Thanks to Karcher for bringing along the pressure washers for all the riders to use in the wash bay.
On the junior track things changed quickly. Within six months, the lives of these small racers changed drastically with significant shifts in speed and in progress over the season. The finest example of this was seen in Mohammed Bin Laden on the #88 KTM 65cc who has gone from being lapped in the first few races to actively contending for a podium position. Mohammed has been working with his father and trainer this season and the results have been nothing short of amazing. Mohammed is riding with the speed, style and attitude of a seasoned pro which is very exciting for the sport in the UAE and sets a great example to all the kids showing the results of hard work. Mohammed was able to finish in second but the day was all Miles Sexson’s with chequered flag wins in both motos, not putting a foot wrong the whole day. Gian Luca Holder put in solid motos to secure 3rd place on that day.
