Al Ain // The final day of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge 2014/15 season produced a surprise victory for a name that is familiar in Emirati motorsports.
Hamda Al Qubaisi, the 12-year-old daughter of the first Emirati to finish at Le Mans, Khaled Al Qubaisi, finished first in the Mini Max category and secured fifth place in the UAE Karting Championship final standings.
“I didn’t expect this to happen, I was so happy at the end,” Al Qubaisi said. “I got first position, I’m really, really happy and I don’t know what else to say.”
Leader Sem Knopjes was expected to win the race and the title, but the early laps of a tight race saw him tucked just behind Shihab Al Habsi and just ahead of Al Qubaisi, with the trio comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
The Emirati driver, who finished second in Round 11 at Yas, said she knew she had to bide her time.
“They were fighting [to get ahead], so I wanted to stay away. I didn’t want to get into the problem,” Al Qubaisi said. “Once they fought, they spun off each other, so I got the first position. I was third before that.”
Crossing the line in first place gave her five podium finishes this season. The victory was all the more unexpected as the morning’s pre-final session had not gone according to plan for Al Qubaisi.
“I was a little mad because I went from second to fourth,” she said. “But someone got a penalty, so I was actually third. That’s the reason I was mad. I didn’t think I would win, I thought I would be at the back. But this is what happened.”
Not many present at the Al Ain raceway circuit, including the driver herself, could have foreseen such a remarkable turnaround in her fortunes from the early days of the season.
“When I started this season, I was a little slow,” Al Qubaisi said. “I was giving up all the time, I didn’t push, but then I started building up confidence and I started driving much better and better.”
Al Qubaisi is enrolled at the Daman Speed Academy, the Abu Dhabi Racing-backed initiative to train young drivers.
She has consistently improved thoughout the season, and it was appropriate that she should win on the last day of the season.
“Al Ain is actually my favourite track,” she said, pointing at the track with a chuckle.
“I want to thank the team (Abu Dhabi Racing) and the Daman Speed Academy for really putting me into this,” Al Qubaisi said.
“For fixing my car and making it perfect for me to drive. I’d like to thank my parents, too, for giving me the opportunity to drive and all my family for cheering for me and being here with me.”
She was not the only Al Qubaisi representing the Daman Speed Academy, either.
Older sister Amna finished an impressive fifth in the final Junior Max race, and younger brother Abdullah could only finish at the back of the field earlier in the Micro Max category.
In England, father Khalid was behind the wheel of his Porsche 911 as his Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing team qualified in third for today’s 6 Hours of Silverstone, the opening race of the new FIA World Endurance Championship.
No doubt he will be brimming with pride at his daughter’s achievement and level-headedness on the track.
“Next season I’ll be racing in the same class.” she said. “I think I can do better in the Championship.”
Her rivals have been warned.
akhaled@thenational.ae