Teenager Jones falls just short at UAE Sportscar event

Edward Jones just missed out on an impressive win in the UAE Sportscar Championship yesterday at Dubai Autodrome

Edward Jones, the Dubai schoolboy, missed out on a surprise win in the UAE Sportscar Championship at Dubai Autodrome yesterday following a spin on the last lap.

The 16-year-old, who was making his debut in the series, had led the second mini enduro race until the last lap when he went off and lost position.

Victory in the race, which was part of the UAE National Race series, looked as if it would go to the pairing of Jordan Grogor and Saad Salman as a result of Jones's misfortune, but although they crossed the line first, they were deducted 20 seconds for overtaking trangressions, which dropped them to third.

Jones finished second, while the victory went to the pairing of Bassam Kronfli and Luca Cima, with the latter admitting he was surprised to be pointed to the top step at the end of the race.

"I did not know we had won," he said. "I saw the guys celebrating when I crossed the line but thought the fuss was for finishing second.

"So to find out we won when I arrived in the pit lane was a great feeling."

The victory capped a perfect day for the pair as they had earlier won the first race as well, with Grogor and Salman in second place and Jones finishing in third.

Elsewhere in yesterday's action at the Autodrome, Abdulaziz Binladin, the Saudi Arabian rider, dominated the 1000 class of the UAE Superbikes as he won the two races, with Ahmed al Lanjawi the runner-up in both races.

Jason Bumside won both the 600 class races.

The Suzuki Swift Cup series saw Papangiotis Fokos come out on top in both of the races, with Klaus Kresnik and Balazas Galotti sharing the runners-up sports in the respective races.

The next round of the UAE National Race series takes place at the Dubai Autodrome on Friday, February 25.