MEDIA INFORMATION
FIA KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP
Portimao, PORTUGAL – April 8th-10th, 2022
For immediate release
Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
OK SENIOR ROOKIE KEANU AL-AZHARI OVERCOMES SETBACKS
TO FINISH OPENING FIA KARTING RACE IN PORTUGAL
DUBAI (UAE): Young Emirati kart racer Keanu Al-Azhari suffered a minor setback to his challenge for top honours in the 2022 FIA European Karting Championship at the opening round at Portimao in Portugal at the weekend. After overcoming a couple of technical issues, the talented rookie fought back to finish 20th in the final.
Taking part in the competitive OK Senior category for the first time this season, Al-Azhari suffered an engine failure on lap two of the second of the heats on the demanding Portuguese track. His spare engine had less power than the original and he then suffered a cracked chassis during heat five. But the Emirati made it through the heats and into the final in 25th position, with the top 36 of the most talented young racers in the world qualifying for the final.
He retained his focus and determination throughout the final on the 1.53km circuit and climbed five places to be classified in 20th position.
“Round one of the FIA European Championship 2022 was a great weekend with a lot of experience gained and outstanding pace,” said Keanu. “I had a good start to the weekend battling within the top five in my heats.
“An unfortunate mechanical failure forced me to retire in one of my heats, which set us back. But we still managed to comfortably enter the Final alongside the world’s top drivers and I finished with a P20 result. It was a great weekend for me and the Tony Kart Team and I am looking forward to the next races in the season.”
Keanu added:” I had made a perfect start to 2022 in the Senior OK category with Tony Kart. We have prepared well for this season, our chassis is strong and Vortex engines were running well.”
Victory in the first round of the season fell to Ward Racing’s Arten Severiukhin, with Energy Corse Sri’s Tomass Stolcermanis and Tony Kart Racing Team’s Joe Turney
rounding off the podium places.
Keanu Al-Azhari returns to action with Tony Kart Racing at the Zuera International Karting track in Spain on April 28th-May 1st.
Ends
For further information:
Firas Nimri, Tel: + 962 7 7728 2000, E-mail: firas@nimri.com.
www.tonykart.com