The Peninsula
Qatar’s Abdulla Al Khelaifi continued with his outstanding performance at the Qatar Touring Car Championship (QTCC), clinching another double win in the third round at Losail International Circuit yesterday.
For third time in a row this season, the defending champion was in a flawless routine, outsmarting his opponent after close contests.
Saadon Al Kuwari returns to the podium as he finished second while Ibrahim Al Abdulghani completed the top three.
Al Khelaifi (HondaS2000), who started on pole position in the first race, had a strong battle with Al Kuwari (ToyotaGT86) before sealing the victory with a gap of 21.004 seconds.
Hamad Al Sulaiti (ToyotaGT86) and Hamad Al Asam (Toyota Integra) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Al Khelaifi and Al Kuwari finished in the top two positions respectively again in the second race but this time with a gap of only 10.379. Al Khelaifi was very happy with his performance.
“I had a lot of fun in the first race. Some drivers were very close and I couldn’t relaxed so I pushed the car very hard. I am very happy that the car survived until the end of the event,” he said.
“I had a tough battle with Saadon, and at the end we switched positions more than three times but finally I managed to finish in front,” he added.
“In the second race, Saadon had a technical issue and started from the pit so I didn’t pushed the car too much, managing the race but in the fourth lap, I saw him behind me in the rear mirror so I had to push really hard to keep the gap,” said Al Khelaifi.
Al Kuwari was also delighted to be back on the podium for first time.
“I am very happy to be again into the podium. In the first race, I lead the race from the second lap until the sixth lap when I did a mistake, Abdullah passed me and I couldn’t catch him as tyres were completely hot,” Al Kuwari.
After the third round, Al Khelaifi is leading the championship with 96 points. Hamad Al Sulaiti is second with 52 points while Ghanim Al Maadheed is in third place with 47 points.
Trophies were presented by Salem Al Mohannadi (QMMF Board Member), Mohamad Al Kubaisi, (QMMF Board Member) and Abdulrazak Al Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary).
The fourth round of Qatar Touring Car Championship will be held from February 8 to 9.