AL-FORSAN, ABU DHABI — Young Saudi Arabian karting star Abdullah Al-Dossari successfully finished his first ever race in the IAME Series X30 Challenge UAE without any problems at Abu Dhabi’s Al-Forsan circuit at the weekend.

The 13-year-old son of Issa Al-Dossari took part in the Junior category (12-15 years old) and raced under his father’s ED Racing Team banner.

Abdullah Al-Dossari said: “This was a good start on my first participation in the X30 Challenge. I trained on the track only on Thursday and many of my rivals were experienced international racers.”

More than 40 drivers took part in the Abu Dhabi round of the series, including 13 in the Junior category. The young Saudi set top 10 lap times on the tricky circuit, where hot weather and demanding turns made it a difficult race for everyone.

The youngster added: “The competition was intense and the track was difficult. But we completed the race without problems and I hope it will be the start of a strong future. I will go to Bahrain now to participate in one of the rounds of the Bahrain Karting Championship (March 2) and I am aiming for the podium because I know the circuit well.”

The Saudi’s best lap time was 1min 01.182sec compared to the fastest lap of the weekend of 57.404 seconds. Bearing in mind that he only began racing four months ago, it was a very encouraging start for the young Saudi who finished the 13-lap race in a time of 13min 35.803sec.

Australian racer Lachlan Robinson won the 13-lap final in a time of 12min 34.376sec and finished 9.755 seconds clear of Indian runner-up Kyle Kumaran. Austrian Constantin Reisch, Emirati Ali Al-Shamsi and Jordanian Abdelrahman Fraij rounded off the top five in the X30 Junior category. — SG