Doha: The Losail Circuit Sports Club has concluded a competitive racing season before the summer by hosting a series of spectacular motorsports tournaments on Saturday night.
In spite of the hot weather this weekend, around twenty local and international riders competed in the final rounds of the Losail 600 Cup and the Qatar Touring Car Championship.
The final round of the Losail 600 Cup witnessed Qatar’s Fadhel Al Khater the winner of championship with a total of 91 points while Soud Al Thani and Abdulla Al Qubaisi ended in second and third place with 71 and 58 points respectively.
In the first race of the Losail 600 Cup, Qatar’s Nasser Al Malki, who got the pole position in the qualifying session, made a dominant race from the beginning until the checkered flag and won the first race of the day.
Al Malki, who didn’t take part in the previous rounds was very happy with his victory.
“I am very happy to be back after six months and to participate and excited with the results and hopefully next year I will come back more prepared and see better results,” said Al Malki.
Ali Al Shammari finished the race in second position after battling with Al Khater, who had a crash in the fourth lap when he was riding in second place.
“I lost a gear in corner 13 and crashed in lap 4 but the good thing was that the bike was good and I run again. I pushed hard to go back to my second place but Ali was very good today. But overall I am happy to finish third after my crash,” said Al Khater.
The second race of Losail 600 Cup witnessed tough competition in the ten laps.
The first five laps of the race, the leading positions were for Al Malki, Al Khater and Al Shammari riding very close, but unfortunately, Al Malki had a mechanical problem with his Yamaha and had to retire from the race. With Al Malki out of the race, Al Khater pushed hard to stay in the front of the race until the final lap and got the victory.
“Al Shammari was a really good rider, I learnt something from him, respect all the riders, fast or slow riders and it was a great honor to race with him in this championship. I am very happy with my first title in this championship and looking forward to race again next season,” Al Khater said after winning the title.
Ali Al Shammari ended in second place and Soud Al Thani rounded up the podium of the second race.
Al Thani was very happy with his podium and for finishing the championship in second position.
“In the first race, my aim was to get as much points as possible to secure my second position in the championship and when it happened, in the race 2 I said I need to push and show my potential as I already secured my second position and nothing to lose, so I pushed to be on the podium again.
The second competition of the day was Qatar Touring Car Championship (QTCC) with the participation of eleven drivers in the second round of the championship. Palestinian driver Omran Karama secured his title of the Qatar Touring Car Championship only by one point ahead of Peter De Vido who finished in second place.
Qatar’s Mansour Al Hajri finished the championship in third place overall. In the first race of the day, the winner was the Qatari driver Abdulla Al Khelafi, who lead the entire 10-laps race and Peter De Vido kept his second place throughout all the race.
Al Hajri was in third place during almost all the race but in the last lap, Karama overtook him and he got the third place in the podium.
The second race of the day was highly competitive as well due to the reverse starting grid order and ended with the same winners as race one.
De Vido managed to be in front the first two laps but Khelaifi took the lead in the second lap and secured a second time win of the day.
Karama finished third as in the first race. He was overwhelmingly happy with his title.
“The second race was hard as I started from the back, I had to push a lot and I had a great challenge with Mansour, he pushed me a lot but I succeeded to get the third place and I am ecstatic to get this title being the first time I race here,” Karama said after wining the title. De Vido got the second place in the championship.
“The second race was better than the first as the weather cooled off and was more enjoyable, it was a fantastic championship and I secured 2nd place and I’m happy with my win and would like to thank Losail Circuit Sports Club and I hope I will be back next season,” he said.
‘Qatar’s Khelaifi, winner of the two races of the day was very happy with his performance today.
“In the second race, the competition was stronger because of the reverse grid, I had a good battle with Peter. I am happy with my two wins and my fourth overall in the championship,” he said.
The closing ceremonies and trophies presentations for the two championships were held following the races at the Circuit, and attended by Abdulrahman Al Mannai, QMMF President and Khalid Al Remaihi, Losail Circuit Sports Club Vice Chairman and Secretary-General who distributed the trophies.
The Peninsula
