A thrilling end to the 2017 Federal Tyres King of Desert Championship took place at yet another legendary F1 circuit in the Middle East calendar - this time Bahrain International Circuit would set the battleground for drivers to fight for the title.
Drivers attended from as far as Australia to contend for the coveted crown, it would be Kuwaiti Fahad Aljadei who topped the rankings going into the event. Reigning Champion Ahmad Daham occupied second position and previous round winner Luke Fink third. With the overall rankings extremely close and as always, double points on offer for the final, it was the perfect scenario for an intense weekend - which certainly delivered!
A disappointing start to the weekend for Australian Luke Fink saw mechanical issues plague the newly supercharged and hugely popular Kinetechnik V10-powered E46 M3 leaving it unable to complete a lap. Despite this, Fink managed to clinch the top spot in qualifying after completing just one practice lap after borrowing a 1.5JZ Nissan PS13.
Saudi driver Abdulhadi Alqahtani marked his return to the series with an impressive second place position. Kuwaiti Mesyar Abushaibah’s consistency also continued as he landed third. After a late arrival for Ahmad Daham’s car and barely any time learning the circuit, he managed 6th place. Leader Fahad Aljadei took 10th in a borrowed car from team-mate Abdulrahman Fakhroo.
As we entered the battles, Ahmed Tarek would be the first casualty of the weekend. After waiting for his car to arrive, issues meant that he would have to borrow Doruk Engin’s Camaro. Abdulhadi Alqahtani wasn’t willing to let him progress as he secured his place in the Top 8.
Series leader Aljadei also knocked out Doruk Engin and Ahmad Daham ended the weekend for Nicolas Salomon who had shown great driving at both this round and the previous round in Oman.
An intense battle between Mesyar Abushaibah and Ahmad Daham saw the current Champion narrowly secure his spot in the Top 8 with a 4-6, 5-5 advantage. Fahad Aljadei also forced his way past the in-form Abdulhadi Al-Qahtani to end the Saudi drivers’ return to the series in Aljadei's quest for the title.
Luke Fink managed a 10-0 score against Muath Al Essa in the opening run, Al Essa tried desperately to progress but sadly his 6-4 advantage in the second run wasn’t enough to allow him to succeed.
Champion Ahmad Daham faced Fahad Aljadei in the battle which would decide the fate for both drivers, with Luke Fink also watching on the sidelines to see who he would fight against in the final. After a mistake from Fahad Aljadei in the opening run, it would give a 10-0 advantage to Daham. As Aljadei tried his absolute best to redeem the points, a mistake under pressure left Daham with nowhere to go other than into the side of Aljadei. A score of 0-0 was awarded after mistakes from both drivers which meant that Ahmad Daham was once again in the final to fight for his second consecutive title!
In the small final, Muath Al Essa faced Fahad Aljadei. After a mistake from Al Essa, a 10-0 score was awarded in Aljadei’s favour. Al Essa gave his all to try and force a one-more-time. Despite the clear advantage in Al Essa’s favour in the second run, the 8-2 score wasn’t enough – handing the third place spot to Fahad Aljadei!
As Luke Fink took the leading run first in the Final, Ahmad Daham was left in the smoke as clouds billlowed from the 1.5JZ PS13. A 6-4 advantage was awarded to the Australian driver leaving him in contention for the title.
However, Daham had other ideas and used the full capabilities of Senshi to pull away from Fink, despite Fink catching up on the tight first corner, an unlucky mistake under pressure from the Australian would force a 7-3 score in Daham’s favour as he’s once again crowned the King of Desert!
An incredible final round saw Ahmad Daham top the overall Championship standings once again, with Australian Luke Fink in second and Fahad Aljadei in third after showing tremendous consistency throughout their first campaigns in the series.
The King of Desert team would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout an exhilarating 2017 campaign. As we look to 2018, can anyone finally steal the crown from Daham? With Luke Fink missing the first round, he's already hoping to return in 2018 for a full season to seek revenge with the Kinetechnik V10 M3! Will he manage to succeed or will a new contender rise to the challenge?!
Official event video
Next up, we open the 2017 Federal Tyres King of Europe season as we prepare for what will undoubtedly be an epic encounter at the legendary Greinbach circuit in Austria. Just one week later we continue the King of Nations series alongside King of Asia with two back-to-back rounds at Nikko Circuit and Ebisu Circuit in Japan!
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