With 31 sponsor prizes on offer, 101 local and international drivers were enticed to contest the 2017 Dubai O Plate Karting Championship over Saturday and Sunday at Dubai Kartdrome.

Karters battled it out over two days to determine O Plate champions in nine categories.

The combined grid of IAME X30 Senior (ages 15 and older) and Masters (ages 30 and older), was the largest of the event and included some famous names in the karting community.

F4 UAE driver Sean Babington, winner of multiple British, European and world karting titles, was the class favourite, but karting aces Abdullah Al Rawahi, and Mauricio Hernandez made sure it wasn’t easy.

However, once he fought off the challengers, Babington sailed in for the victory, 0.901 seconds ahead of Abdullah Al Rawahi with Mauricio Hernandez claiming third.

The fight for the IAME X30 Masters category was waged within the same race as Senior, and reigning champ Ali Al Najjar, also with Energy Corse, took top honours for the second year running. Dario Rubio settled for second place silverware while Nadia Khan earned third.

Young Emirati driver Rashid Al Dhaheri was likewise a dominant force on the weekend. Driving a Tony Kart body, he earned pole position in the IAME X30 (ages 10-12) Pre-Finals and went on to defeat the field in the Final Race, taking the chequered flag almost eight seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Ahmed Al Saadi for second and Mohammed Al Habsi in third.

Al Dhaheri also set a Dubai O Plate record, taking top honours on the podium four years in a row.