Two wins for Max Defourny at MRF Challenge Dubai

Max Defourny finished a memorable Round-1 of the MRF Challenge in Dubai with 106 points winning Race 1 and 5, with podium positions in the other three races.

Max Defourny flanked by Jamie Chadwick (left) and Danial Frost on the podium.

Five races and four winners accurately reflected the highly competitive grid of MRF Challenge as Belgium’s 20-year-old Max Defourny achieved a splendid double while Andreas Estner (Germany) and Patrick Pasma (Finland) won the other two races of the MRF Challenge at the Dubai Autodrome on Saturday.

For Defourny, the Round-1 proved memorable as he won Race 1 and 5 apart from podium positions in the other three races.

He finished the Round 1 with 106 points, ahead of Great Britain's Jamie Chadwick (78) and Singapore's Daniel Frost (70), winner of Race 2.

Defourny could have done even better, but he couldn’t make the most of his pole-position start in Race-3 where he lost position by Turn-1 in the very first lap but recovered to finish third.

READ | Daniel Frost, Max Defourny open their MRF Challenge accounts

“I think, I could have done better and won a couple of more races. I made a few mistakes, but more important was that I picked up points at the start of the championship. My win in Race 5 was far more satisfying than that in Race 1. I won more comfortably and on tyres that I had used in the previous four races,” Defourny said, post the races.

In the day’s first race, Andreas Estner, was off to a great start, moving from fourth to first as the pack dived into Turn-1, and, thereafter, literally won as he pleased as he left rest of the field, including pole-sitter Defourny, scrabbling for positions.

While Estner disappeared into the distance, Britisher Jamie Chadwick slotted herself into P2 which she defended gamely against close attention from Defourny with the Belgian first dropping to fourth before tucking himself behind the British girl for the rest of the race.

Germany’s Andreas Estner in action in the MRF Challenge at the Dubai Autodrome.

 

Race-4 was all about Pasma who made capital of his reverse grid pole-position start to open up a sizeable lead. Behind him, Defourny set a scorching pace to move from fourth to second and bore down on Pasma.

In a tense battle, the Finn defended well to win while Defourny picked up his fourth podium with a second-place finish ahead of fellow-Belgian Michelangelo Amendola.

In the fifth and final race of Round 1, it was Defourny all the way again after starting from pole position and with each of the 10 laps, he increased the lead for his second win of the week by nearly 10 seconds.

India’s Chetan Korada, though finishing way down the grid in all the five races, took some positives from the first round. “I am gradually getting used to the car and this is reflected in my ever-improving timings. I hope to have a better outing in Bahrain next month and hopefully, by the time we get to Chennai in February, I should be more competitive and fighting for mid-grid positions,” said the 32-year old Chennai-based driver competing with a prosthesis leg.

The MRF Challenge now heads to Bahrain (December 6-8) for the next round before moving to Chennai (February 8-10) for the championship finale.