The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

  ^News

Provisional 2009 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship ‘Development Class’ Points:
1st Faisal Raffii, 86pts; 2nd Alqassim Hamidaddin, 50pts; 3rd Husam Al-Saleh, 42pts; 4th Ezra Idafar, 38pts

mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 

SIXTH PODIUM OF SEASON FOR BAHRAINI TEENAGER IDAFAR

Bahrain’s Ezra Idafar upheld local honour during the penultimate event of the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship in Sakhir on Sunday, 14th March, by taking his sixth class podium of the campaign with his last appearance of the season. 

Competing as part of the support package to the opening race of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, 17-year-old Ezra battled car problems throughout the weekend but still managed to secure a pair of good results – fifth position in the SC06 class during round 11 on Saturday, 13th March, and a fine second place on Sunday morning. 

Although the practice session on Friday, 12th March, was compromised for the Gulf Computer Services-supported driver due to an array of problems, namely a broken fan-belt and braking issues, he hit back well at his home circuit during qualifying to set the third fastest time in class.

Running well during the first seven-lap encounter on Saturday, Ezra’s progress was hampered once more by recurring brake problems but he fought-back well to finish fifth in class. Fellow Bahraini Isa Kooheji took second in the SC06 Development Class but because he was entered as a guest driver, and therefore ineligible to score, Ezra took the championship points for fourth position. 

Before Sunday’s race had even reached mid-distance, Ezra experienced yet more braking issues with his 6.0-litre Lumina. Holding second place in class at the time, rather than push-on to catch the SC06 leader, Ezra opted to reduce his pace in order to conserve the car as much as possible. In doing so he managed to reach the finish without further problems to claim his sixth Chevrolet Supercars podium. 

Although there is one event remaining in the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship, this weekend’s action marked the last of the campaign for Ezra as he will not participate in the final two races in Saudi Arabia just over a fortnight from now. 

“Finishing my last race of the season on the podium is a great way for my championship to end, especially at home in Bahrain”, he said, We had a lot of problems with the brakes all weekend and although I was pretty disappointed after Saturday’s race, the podium in race two made up for it.  

“I did have to back off to make sure we finished in second place as the brakes started to go again from about lap three. In the end it was ok and I was able to get the car to the finish. I’ve enjoyed the racing and it was great to be part of a Formula One race weekend once again.”

pics: Lex Akehurst/X-Sport Media

IDAFAR CLAIMS MAIDEN CHEVROLET SUPERCARS CLASS WIN 

Ezra Idafar made his first visit to the top step of a Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship podium at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 20th February, with an outstanding debut class win during the 10th round of the season. 

As the youngest driver in the championship, the 17-year-old Bahraini’s fantastic victory meant a piece of Chevrolet Supercars ME history was made at the 5.5km track – a tremendous result which consolidated fourth position in the SC06 Development Class driver standings. 

Realistically, the Gulf Computer Services-backed racer should have enjoyed a double victory over the weekend but he was forced out of the opening encounter just a lap and a half from the chequered flag while leading his class. Having seen off the challenge of Faisal Raffii, a clutch failure resulted in a disappointing retirement but he bounced back tremendously in race two. 

“I’m so pleased to finally get my first class win in Chevrolet Supercars”, said Ezra, “We really should have had two wins this weekend but the clutch problem in race one meant it wasn’t to be. I was so determined to take the win in the second race after the race one retirement, it was a great battle with Faisal (Raffii). The win was the perfect way to end the weekend at Yas Marina.” 

Ezra made his intentions felt immediately during Free Practice on Friday, 19th February, by setting the fastest SC06 lap of 2m22.152 seconds. During qualifying he went on to secure a class front row start for round nine while his second best lap of the session placed him third in class on the grid for round 10. 

Although the first Chevrolet Supercars race, which ran in support of the opening round of the 2010 Australian V8 Supercars Championship, resulted in another mechanical failure for Ezra’s car, he proved his credentials beyond any doubt. Without the clutch issue he would almost certainly have achieved his maiden class victory during round nine. 

Determined to make amends in race two, Ezra battled tooth and nail with experienced class points leader Raffii, the lead changing hands several times. From mid-distance, Ezra took control in his Gulf Computer Services-backed 6.0-litre Lumina and went on to claim his first career win in the category by a margin of 5.5 seconds. In doing so, he also ended Raffii’s eight race winning streak. 

Pic Lex Akehurst/X-Sport Media

CHEVROLET SUPERCARS PODIUM RETURN FOR IDAFAR IN ABU DHABI 

Bahraini teenager Ezra Idafar made an excellent return to action during the fourth race meeting of the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship in Abu Dhabi over the weekend – two class podiums lifting him into fourth position in the SC06 Development Class driver standings.  

Kicking off the season with two podiums during the 2009 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend last October, the 17-year-old impressed once again on his return to the fabulous Yas Marina facility, having missed the previous two rounds in Saudi Arabia last month.

Showing no signs of track rust, Ezra’s start to the GP2 Asia Series-supporting event was nonetheless compromised by mechanical problems with his 6.0-litre Lumina during free practice on Friday, 5th February, which resulted in very little track time.

An eventual transmission failure meant the car needed to be repaired prior to qualifying but with only an hour between sessions, Ezra’s Chevrolet was only able to run during the final few minutes where he did a great job to secure the fifth fastest time in class with just one flying lap.

Producing a terrific performance during the opening race on Friday afternoon, the youngest driver in the championship climbed through the order very well to finish runner-up in the Development Class, eighth position overall, a mere two seconds behind points leader Faisal Raffii. Ezra also posted a highly competitive best lap of 2m39.300 seconds.

Race two on Saturday, 6th February, produced another podium – Ezra’s fourth of the season – with a fine third place class finish, eighth overall again. He also went one better than the first encounter in terms of lap times, posting the best SC06 Class effort of 2m39.288 seconds. Combining his scores, the teenager is now just seven points outside the top three in the Development Class standings.

Ezra said: “It’s great to be back on the podium again, the weekend was difficult with the problems in practice and qualifying but both races went well for me. Even though I missed the previous event in Saudi Arabia and had two non-finishes in Bahrain in December, we’re still in quite a good position in the SC06 Class championship.”

There are only two weeks to wait until the fifth race meeting of the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship takes place on Friday, 19th February, and Saturday, 20th February. Once again, the event will be staged at the Yas Marina facility in Abu Dhabi but will this time act as support to the opening round of the 2010 Australian V8 Supercars Championship.