The Peninsula
Qatar's Ahmed El Kholay yesterday overcame a slow start to win the final round of the WRC8, an event organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), and claim the top prize with a slick finish.
Ahmed clocked a time of 33:17.944 to take the top position in the third event of the hugely popular Qatar Online Racing Championship (QORC) ahead of Oman’s Ammar Bulushi and Kuwait’s Mishari Al Thefiri in the digital Rally of Finland.
The triumphant Qatari driver, who won the third, fifth and the seventh stages yesterday, finished just 0.830 seconds ahead of Oman’s Bulushi who grabbed the second spot in the seven-entry field that also included Qatar’s ex-world champion Adel Abdulla. Kuwait’s Al Therifi was third and lagged behind by 41.604 seconds against the day’s hero.
Ahmed, after winning the top prize of QR 15,000, yesterday said he believed hard work would pay off.
“I can’t even describe my feeling on winning this title. I put my best in the competition but never thought I was going to win it,” Ahmed said yesterday. “I knew this was not my type of racing at all because I like circuit racing. The rally was new racing for me because I have no experience of it,” he added.
“But I knew I had pace and did well in qualifying and got better with each race. It was difficult last two weeks for me. I was practicing day and night,” the Qatari said after his title win. “It was a world -class competition. The competitors set amazing times and you will see them in top 10 in the world. I tried to learn from my mistakes and not take too many risks. Today’s strategy was not to commit any mistakes and just keep the car on the road. I want to thank QMMF's Executive Director Amro Al Hamad and his team. It's a great effort from them to organise such an event,” he said.
The runner-up took home QR13,000, while third-placed got QR10,000. Qatar’s Mansour Dbeissy, who impressed in the previous round, secured the fourth spot (+ 41.609 seconds) while compatriot Khalid Al Maraghi rounded off the top five just 18.068 seconds ahead of sixthplaced Abdulla.
Oman’s Zakariya Al Ofi (+2:02.853) struggled and remained at the bottom of the seven-driver field. Bulushi said: “It was an exciting race. I did my best and my stage times were very good. But Ahmed was better and consistent, and today was not my day. I want to thank QMMF for organising the event. It was a gruelling two weeks.”