Motor racing is a sport which just the physical aspect of racing is not the only factor which determines success. Any form of international motor sport requires extensive pre- race planning including getting the right media coverage and media rights of the team settled, having a confirmed driver lineup, sorting out all the travel and logistical aspects of the team, acquiring all the gear need in the correct sizes, quantity, and design, getting the sponsor’s stickers printed and the team gear branded, managing to put in enough practice before the race to prepare the drivers and lastly but most importantly having all the sponsorship which is essential for any activity in motor sports to happen.
Without any government support XtremeVelcoity Racing, Pakistan’s premier and only international karting team has managed to not only compete at two high profile international events within the last 6 months but is also now leading the way for local racers to develop and gain experience on the international stage.
Building on the experience of the first race in May, XtremeVelcoity Racing, put in a performance at the 2nd race of the Dubai Endurance Karting Championship 2006 on November 3-4 2006 at the Dubai Autodrome that is worth noting. This race was even more competitive as 20 international teams signed up to take part in what is fast becoming one of the premier karting events on the international calendar. Having learnt a lot from their first international racing experience XtremeVelcoity Racing took steps to correct and prevent the mistakes from that outing.
Logistically this race was planned out by the team in a much more professional manner, by having sorted out the media coverage, the driver lineup and the travel arrangements well in advance. However preparations were not short of drama as the team had ordered export quality cordura race suits, which were not delivered until seven hours before departure for Dubai. The reaming racing gear, gloves and helmets were of international standard.
The most essential aspect was in getting the sponsorship deals and this time with extremely little time to prepare the team was fortunate to be generously supported by United Mobile as the title sponsor, and co-sponsors Bank Alfalah, PIA, PEL. and returning to sponsor them for the second time TCS.
Arriving in Dubai the night before the race Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing was at the track early morning for the team registration and driver sign up. Following this was driver’s and captain’s briefing, pit allocation and pit and kart branding. The official practice session lasting an hour and a half commenced in the afternoon during which all the drivers were given ten minutes to get acclimatized to the kart and track.
The team was made up of 8 members, 5 previous drivers namely Syed Ovais Naqvi, Adnan Sarwar Chauhdry, Shahzad Khokhar, Juned Sani (in a team managers role this time) and Mohsin Ikram (in a back up driver’s role) and 3 new drivers namely Pasha Saigol, Aroosh Naqvi and Ashraf Raza a Dubai resident with extensive experience karting in UAE. Of the three new drivers Pasha and Aroosh had no previous experience on this circuit, but all the drivers did well in the practice and Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing managed to get the 9th fastest time in the practice session set by captain Syed Ovais Naqvi who also went out for the qualifying lap. The qualifying did not go as well for the team after Ovais made a small mistake on the chicayne causing the kart to run fractionally wide and losing 1.5 seconds in the process. This dropped the team down to a lowly 18th position on the grid.
Knowing that this was an endurance race, this talented team of racers dug in deep to fight back over the course of the next 24 hours. Adnan Sarwar Chauhdry got the team off to a flying start overtaking four karts within the first two laps and ended his drive in 11th position. Ovais took over the next 2 hour racing session and further moved the team up the field to ease into the top ten. However fate still had role to play as suddenly the lap times started getting slower and the team began dropping down. After an hour and half into his session Ovais lost all power to the kart and had to make an unscheduled pit stop to switch karts. The replacement kart turned out to be even worse with no traction on the rear end causing the kart to be slipping and sliding and sideways on most turns.
It turned out that the original kart had developed a small puncture in one of the tires and the fuel pump had stopped working properly causing the slow lap times and the subsequent loss of power to the engine. Eventually the mechanics got the original kart repaired but the technical problems and extra pit stops had cost the team valuable minutes dropping Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing down to 19th position.
Not to be deterred by adversity Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing began the fight back right away with the repaired kart with three solid two hour sessions each put in the by the next three drivers. Pasha Saigol, the third driver and making his first appearance for the team and at the Dubai Autodrome drove superbly to begin bringing the team back into contention. This was followed by exceptional drives from Dubai resident Ashraf Raza, in his first outing for Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing and veteran team driver Shahzad Khokhar from Karachi who both used all their previous experience on this difficult track to consolidate XVR’s position.
With the technical troubles behind them and a kart handling very well Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing’s drivers showcased their true potential in the early hours of a misty morning as Adnan in his second stint put in a blistering drive making up numerous laps and cutting his way through the traffic setting the team’s best times so far. Ovais then climbed into the kart for his second two-hour stint and a very exciting period of the race in which he consistently set faster and faster lap times eventually breaking his own record and clocking the fastest lap time by a member of Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing at the Dubai Autodrome which is only 2 seconds slower than the lap record by anyone at this track. Passing the back markers with ease he was involved in several seesaw battles with the front-runners as Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing pushed up the field.
As the early morning sun raised on the Emirate the conditions drastically changed with gusting winds covering the track in sand. Handling the unfamiliar conditions better than most of the other more experienced drives Pasha drove very well in his second stint to make up laps and move the team up. During a period of time in which the temperature soared and conditions became very trying as most other teams were struggling to put in decent lap times Asharf handled the kart sublimely to consistently clock faster times and further make up lost ground in his second two-hour stint.
The next session saw Adnan take over the wheels for his third and final stint in which he drove like a man possessed. With his hands covered in blisters Adnan endured the pain to push the team up and consolidate Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing into 14th position. Having battled pain and fatigue for an hour and a half Adnan finally signaled the pit that he was coming in for an early pit stop. With the race winding down every second was crucial the team now had two primary objectives at this time, to consolidate their hold on the 14th spot and to try and take the 13th position. Shahzad was given the wheels for the final thirty minutes of Adman’s two-hour session during which he created a two-lap gap over the team behind them.
With 14th position now solidly in their grasp Pasha stepped into the kart for his final stint and began eating away at the lead of the team in thirteenth position. Slowly but surely Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing started to close the gap bringing it within two seconds of the team in front until Pasha had to make the final pit stop for fuel.
Due to making the necessary pit stop for fuel XVR had fallen 25 seconds behind the team in front, but with two and a half hours remaining there was still a lot to be fought for, and Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing with their never give up attitude filled the fuel tank to the brim for one final charge at gaining a position.
Captain Ovais Naqvi shouldered the responsibility of making this final attempt at taking thirteenth position in his third and longest session by a driver of Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing by racing non-stop for two and half hours. In what can only be described as a heroic racing stint Ovais having already driven four hours pushed the kart to the limit, slicing through traffic. Given tremendous support from his pit by Juned Sani, Aroosh Naqvi and Mohsin Ikram who lap after lap kept showing the lap times and lead time for the team in front Ovais cut the lead down from 25 seconds to 11 seconds within the first hour. The next hour saw the lead fluctuate each lap, as it would drop down to seven seconds and then climb back to eleven. Battling dehydration, and exhaustion having driven for a total of six and half hours Ovais brought the lead down to six seconds but Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing was unable to take the 13th position.
Given the caliber of the opposition with international teams from the UK, Russia, Italy, France, and various Arab countries, the lack of practice on that circuit and experience in international racing, coupled with the misfortune of technical problems when in 9th position, this performance by Untied Mobile XtremeVecloity Racing was phenomenal. This valiant team of Pakistani racers fought back from adversity to earn a respectable 14th position finishing ahead of numerous international teams in round two of the Nivea for Men Dubai Endurance Karting Championship 2006 in what was only their second race.
The team finished 13th in a field of 17 in their first race, the first round of the Nivea for Men Dubai Endurance Karting Championship 2006 at the same venue. XtremeVecloity Racing won the special award at their debut race and their much-improved performance here, finishing 14th out of 20 with three new drivers gives the team great hope for the future. The next race, the third round of the Nivea for Men Dubai Endurance Karting Championship 2006 will be held on February 2-3 2007.
XtremeVecloity Racing is now also looking at other international races to further expand their racing activities and continue their racing endeavor