georgiezouein-blog

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NEXT STOP: EUROPE.

We’re doing the Rotax Max Euro Challenge & Grand Festival with FM Racing.

Steven and I just wrapped up our UAE Rotax Max Challenge season last weekend and it was amazing! This is my Rookie season in Junior Max, coming from Micro Max, and the objective this year was to learn and get used to the speed and handling of a bigger and heavier kart… of course while learning how to race against some amazing drivers in our paddock. It was tough at the beginning but I learned and improved very fast along the way. I am super happy with my progress and very proud of what I achieved in a short time. But that’s already in the past because my season doesn’t end here… A lot of my progress was due to the hours of hard work Steven and I put together preparing for our debut season in Junior Max; the 3 races we did in Europe also played a role in that.  So Steven and I have decided to continue racing over the summer to keep developing my skills and race craft, and we’re making Europe our next stop. We’ve signed up for the Rotax Max Euro Trophy and the Rotax Max Grand Festival.   My first race is next week. I will be flying to Genk (Belgium) to race against 42 Junior drivers! The other races will be in Sweden, Austria and Germany. We are joining Maxi Fleischmann & FM Racing and I will be driving an OTK chassis which will be powered by an engine prepped by Richard Dobson from Ogden Motorsports. Richard’s magic is gonna make the engine go #VroomVroom and I’m excited to feel the speed! We are so looking forward to this experience. And so is Maxi, who had this to say: “We are really happy that Georgie is racing with us at the 2018 Rotax Max Euro Trophy and the Rotax Max Grand Festival this year. He is very young but already professional and a hard working kid only in his first junior season. We will do our best to support his development in karting and hopefully we can achieve some good results. Together with the OTK chassis and the engines from Ogden Motorsport we have a good package for all the upcoming races.” My bags are packed and I’m ready to go! It’s gonna be fun and we are gonna have a great time. Keep your eyes on my website for updates and for the Live Timing link. 

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4 ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE UAE ROTAX MAX CHALLENGE FINALE

P2 in the Final, FASTEST LAP in HEAT 3 and PRE-FINAL, P2 in QUALIFYING.

This past weekend was our last round of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge and it ended on a high for me. The highlight of my weekend was the Final…I started from P9 after getting knocked off the track twice during the Pre-Final… but I fought my way through an amazing pack of talented drivers and finished in P2!

I was super happy because I put on a good fight and this was probably one of my best races ever. I went into the Final, determined to give it all I had, because it wasn’t over for me yet and it was time to to make up for what I lost the day before and in the Pre-Final! Steven fired up my kart and then I fired up my own cylinders and gave it all I got… it was now or never... and the above picture tells the rest of the story!

We achieved 4 great results this weekend: P2 in the Final, Fastest Lap Twice once in Heat 3 and once in the Pre-Final and P2 in Qualifying. As always, these 4 achievements are dedicated through my #RacingForHappiness Charity Program to help 4 new kids in need, at Centre Mar Semaan. 

It was an amazing weekend; tough but worth every effort! I could not have done it without the support of my partner Steven, my mental coach Linda, my sponsors Capriole Construction and Mille Miglia, OTK Middle East, and last but not least the love and support of Mom, Dad and Ryan!

Big shout out to my team-mates Theo & Dimo who joined me in 1st & 3rd on the podium. Congrats guys! It was awesome to have an Al Ain Raceway Team podium this weekend! ;) 

But the biggest shout-out goes to my good pal Yusuf Moola who is retiring from Karting... :((( I’m gonna miss you around the paddock buddy and on the track. You’ve been a tough, yet fun competitor to race against. It’s sad to see you retire from Karting. Wish you all the best in your new adventure!  

Picture by: Robert Lintescu/CarCulture

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FIA chooses 4 drivers to participate in a Drivers Development Programme in Europe this coming July. Georgie Zouein to represent 12-year-old category.

The final results of the FIA Young Drivers Programme Phase III that took place in Lebanon earlier this month are out... and I am honored to be chosen as the winner for the 12-year-old category. I will be joining 3 other winners from the other categories, to attend a complete Drivers Development Programme that will be taking place in Europe this coming July 2018.

Two days ago, we received the quantitative scores and were impatiently waiting to hear back about the qualitative assessments and the final results; the numbers looked close.

Last night ATCL Motorsports - the ASN in Lebanon - issued the following press statement: “On behalf of the committee involved in the FIA Young Drivers Training Programme Phase III, we would like to congratulate all participants taking part in the event. Four drivers have been chosen to participate in further development that will take place in Europe in July 2018: 1) Category 16+ years old: Georges Nader. Georges will be traveling to the UK for a Formula 4 test and development programme with a chance to have an assessment with Renault F1 Team Academy. 2) Category 13-15 years old: Karl Saad 3) Category 10-12 years old: Georgie Zouein 4) Category under 10 years old: Christopher Feghali All the three winners from the younger categories will be taking part in a driving development programme in Europe. We would like to congratulate all the participants, for their excellent performance. We are looking forward to welcome you again next year at the Phase IV.”

This is a big achievement for me and an exciting opportunity! I still can’t believe how amazing it is and that I won. The Drivers Development Programme in Europe is going to be a great way for me to develop my driving skills, but more importantly a greater opportunity to learn how to become a better, stronger and well-rounded driver.

I want to thank everyone who was part of this programme, and for kindly inviting me all the way from Dubai. Big thank you to the FIA, ATCL Motorsports, Middle East Motorsports Management, Khalil Beschir, the teams from PitStop Karting and RPM Karting and all the participants. Big thank you to Steven, Linda and Danil for getting me ready for the event. And last but not least big thank you to my amazing family for the support and for pushing me to go!

Looking forward to Europe!

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P4 in the Final & Fastest Lap in the Heat at R12 of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge 

#RacingForHappiness to touch the lives of 2 new kids

This weekend was my first time in a Junior Max at the YAS Marina F1 Circuit. It was amazing! I loved the speeds I was driving at, because the track is super fast!

The weekend was great overall and I'm happy with the results I've achieved. There were 14 great Junior drivers this weekend, all fierce and competitive. I qualified in P4 with a 0.133 secs off the leader. Did a mistake at the start of the Heat and dropped to 10th, but I came back fighting... made my way back to 7th and set the Fastest Lap of the Heat. The Pre-Final was good, I started from 7th and finished in 5th and the Final was great where I started from 5th and crossed the finish line in 4th!

I’m so happy with the P4 finish in the Final and the Fastest Lap in the Heat, and would like to dedicate those results through my #RacingForHappiness Program to touch the lives of 2 new unfortunate kids at Centre Mar Semaan.

Big thank you to my awesome team: Steven, Linda and Danil. Big thank you to Al Ain Raceway and YAS Marina F1 Circuit for an amazing weekend.

Finally, big shout out to Lochy, Tatin, Jamie and Teams Brand and Energy... great job guys and congrats on the podiums!

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Amazing Experience at Phase III of the FIA Young Drivers Program in Lebanon

I was honored to be invited to the FIA YOUNG DRIVERS PROGRAMME that was organized and hosted by the FIA and the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon (ATCL) last weekend. The programme focused on identifying talented young drivers and helping them grow while growing the sport in the region.

The 2-day programme was amazing and I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. We were a big group of more than 40 participants and we had training and assessment sessions, in addition to learning driving techniques, fitness, career management and media relations.

Points and grades were granted for every class and competition and on the one-to-one assessments and winners will be announced based on those points and grades. 65% goes to driving on-circuit and in the simulator, and 35% for the other aspects of the training programme.

Results should be out soon. I can't wait.