DUBAI: Allan Nawfal overcame some strong competition from Umair Khan, gusty winds and poor visibility in Class Am of Round 7 of the UAE Autox Championship 2008, organized by the Emirates Motor Sports Federation, on Friday (February 1) to surge ahead and place himself at the top of the overall championship standings.

Held at the sprawling Emirates Motorplex in Umm Al Quwain, round seven was definitely not for the faint hearted given the inclement weather with winds speeds in excess of 25mph reducing visibility to less than 500 meters making it all the more difficult for drivers to negotiate the pre-defined track in this timed event.

However, despite the unfavorable weather conditions that persisted throughout the day forcing the organizers to delay the 9am start by at least a couple of hours, 18 of the 20 registered drivers turned up for what they later said was one of the most challenging rounds of the championship under adverse weather conditions.

In Class AM, Nawfal in his Renault Clio averaged 1 minute 44.30 seconds in his two runs against Umair’s 1 minute 49.65-second average to drive off as the class and overall winner for the day.

Veteran Akram Malas, fifth in the overall in the standings going into round seven, topped Class BM with an average time of 1 minute 47.37 seconds, which also ensured him second overall for the day, against Raad Haddad’s 1 minute 54.09 seconds and Ryan Copeland’s 1 minute 56.96 seconds, in second and third place respectively.

In Class C, Faisal Omar topped averaging a time of 1 minute 57.28 seconds with Samer Malek coming in second with a time of 1 minute 58.66 seconds, while the father-son on-track rivalry of Danny and Jason Keep saw the younger Keep take the top spot in Class D with an average time of 2 minutes 01.33 seconds against his father’s time of 2 minutes 03.76 seconds. Basel Ramli finished third in Class D with a time of 2 minutes 04.78 seconds.

First-timer Daniel Boyde ran in the Special Class, clocking 1 minute 50.51 seconds.

Fadi Bikawi who led the pack overall with 85 points and Waleed Afani who was in second overall with a close 83 points did not participate in round seven due to prior work commitments but are likely to race in the remaining three.

At the end of round seven, the overall championship standings are interesting poised with Nawal taking the leadership position having accumulated 96 points, Fadi in second with 85 points and Waleed in third with 83 points.

With a win in his class on Friday, Akram has risen to fourth place in the overall standings with 62 points while Umair has slipped one place to fifth with a total of 59 points to his credit.