RACE REPORT ROTEX SERIES MIDDLE EAST 14TH APRIL / ROTAX SENIOR MAX KARTDROME DUBAI 20TH APRIL.

South African karting racer Fabienne Lanz has had a successful month of April in kart racing in the Middle East. On the 14th of April, she became the first female to stand on the podium in the Rotex Series Middle East. A week later the young South African took a race win in the Rotex Senior Max at Kartdrome in Dubai.

ROTEX SERIES, MIDDLE EAST – 14 APRIL 2012

Fabienne qualified 3rd on a track she had never raced on before, driving a Haase chassis for the first time. Father Peter had cured a misfire in the engine earlier which had helped in the qualifying session.

Heat 1 saw Fabienne drop back as she initially struggled with set up and track issues. She soon fond pace and was able to set the fastest race lap. Heat 2 resulted in a fine 3rd place finish. “I started in 5th place for the final. The kart felt good and I knew I was on the pace to challenge for a win” stated Fabienne.

By the end of lap 1, Fabienne had moved into 2nd place, and by lap 3 of the 15 lap race she took the lead. As she had started on older tyres, Fabienne came under pressure from the 2nd place runner with 4 laps to go.

As Fabienne was a guest driver, she could not score points, and she did not want to jeopardize the outcome of the championship. She relinquished the lead and held on to cross the line in a fine 2nd place, and in doing so became the first female on a Rotex podium in the Middle East.

“I would like to thank Al Ain Raceway for their help and assistance in allowing me to race their Demo Kart. Thank you to the friendly and helpful mechanics that assisted and also to my Dad for all of his hard work. A big thanks to the sponsors, GSC (Gary Stephenson Computing) and the private individuals that support me” added Fabienne.

ROTEX SENIOR MAX AT KARTDROME DUBAI – 20TH APRIL 2012

This was the first time Fabienne was driving a Formula K Rotex Combo. Nevertheless, she put the kart on pole position for heat 1.

“I dropped to 2nd at the start of the race, and with 4 laps to go, I managed to retake the lead to win the heat. We also won heat 2 as well as heat 3 and were confident that we could challenge for a win in the final” stated Fabienne.Fabienne dominated the final and in doing so, became the first lady racer to win in the Rotex Series.

“I am very happy with the Formula K Kart’s handling and its response to the set up changes we made during the course of race day. A very big thank you goes to the team for their hard work. We had a lot of work to do before and during the race, as I had never raced a Formula K yet,” commented Fabienne.

After her successes in the Middle East, Fabienne competed for the Batelco Team in the 24hr at Sergi Pontois, France with great success. She then went on to  compete in the 24hr race held in North Carolina USA. A full race report on these events will follow.