The Peninsula
Doha: Qatari rider Saeed Al Sulaiti produced an incredible performance at the opening round of the Qatar Superstock 600, winning both races of the weekend at the Losail International Circuit yesterday.
In the first race, Al Sulaiti, who started in the polo position, managed to take the lead after the first lap and maintained the same until the end of the race. Al Sulaiti crossed the checkered flag with a gap of 30.581 ahead of Mishal Al Naimi who finished second.
Al Naimi had a battle with the Hungarian rider Balint Kovacs who came third in the podium. Abdullah Al Qubaisi who crashed in the third lap in turn 10, managed to rejoin the race and finished in sixth place.
In the QSTK Trophy, Jassim Al Thani, who finished fourth overall, took the victory in his category. Al Thani, who started in fifth place on the grid, had a great performance and for some laps, he was in third place in the front. Kuwaiti riders Mohammed Al Zaidan and Ali Abdulhussain finished second and third in the QSTK Trophy category respectively.
In a dramatic second race of the first round, Al Sulaiti had to start from the back of the grid following a crash which occurred during sighting lap. His front tyre was damaged, but managed to make it to the pit and the mechanics had time to fix his bike before the start of the race.
Al Qubaisi took the lead of the second race during the first fourth laps with Al Naimi in his back. But in the fifth lap, Al Sulaiti overtook them and stayed in the front until the end of the race. Al Qubaisi came second and Al Naimi third in the podium.
Al Thani once again secured the win in QSTK Trophy category with Mohammed Al Zaidan in second place as in race 1. This time, Qatar’s Hassan Al Mansoori completed the QSTK Trophy podium.
At the end of the round, Al Sulaiti said he was extremely happy with his results. “I am really happy to start the season with a double win. In the first race, I managed to maintain a good gap with the group behind, so I decided not to push too much and stay in the bike and finish the race.”
“Before the second race, during the sighting lap, I noticed I didn’t have enough grip and I lost the rear and did a highside. It was a big crash, I hurt my toe and came back to the pit to fix my bike. The Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) mechanics who did a great job within a short time and I could started the race from the back of the grid. Many thanks to my team, LCSC mechanics, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and Ooredoo for their support,” Al Sulaiti said.
Al Thani, who won a double in the QSTK Trophy, said: “Overall, the weekend was very good and the preparation in the off season is working very well. I did my best lap time today, 2.07.9 and that is very good. In the first race I was battling in the front with the QSTK riders and finished fourth overall and in the second race, I was a bit tired but managed to create a gap and also finish first in my category.”
The winners’ trophies were presented by Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Qatar, H E Hafeez Mohammed Al Ajmi, Adviser to the Minister of Sports, Abdulrahman Musallam Al Dosari and LCSC Vice President and General Manager, Khalid Al Remaihi.
The second round of Qatar Superstock Championship will be held on December 14 and 15.