Two teenage karters representing the kingdom drove the race of their lives in the Junior Max final of the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) 2023 at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) yesterday – only to suffer heartbreak at the end.
Luca Houghton and Tye Mejia, both 14, driving for the BIKC and starting in P3 and P30 respectively, finished in P4 and P10 but were slapped with a five-second team penalty that dropped Luca down to P9 and Tye to P17 in the 36-kart grid’s final standings.
“I think Tye did an amazing job,” the karter’s father, Jason, told the GDN.
“Realistically, he finished 10th, before they were hit by the penalty. He drove incredibly well after starting in P30 which means he overtook 20 drivers during the race, which is phenomenal.”
Tye’s mum, Sophie, was equally thrilled by her son’s performance.
“We could not be more proud of Tye this weekend,” she said.
“His dedication and the hard work that he has been putting into his karting really shone through in this championship.”
In his capacity as the team principal of Northstar Racing, Ronnie Middleton added: “Luca and Tye are just two of Bahrain’s talented karting community and represent a group of young racers who have demonstrated enthusiasm and determination in this exciting sport, achieving levels of proficiency which has resulted in them competing admirably with the best in the world.
“Bahrain has the opportunity to nurture natural talent and I would like to see more support from both the government and private sector to ensure that more Bahraini youngsters have the opportunity to get involved in karting specifically and motorsport in general.”
Tungling Jimo, of Dan Holland Racing from Great Britain, won the Junior Max crown with Lowette Beau, of Daems Racing Team from Belgium, came in second while Louis Comyn, of Comyn Cedric Team from France, finished third.
Meanwhile, in the E20 Senior Final, Lewis Smith, also of the BIKC, finished 12th in the 15-kart grid.
Mats Johan Overhoff, of German team Doerr Motorsport, won the E20 Senior title with Spencer Brougham, of British team Jamie Brougham, placing second and Knud Nielsen, of Swiss team RS-Competition, coming third.
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