Losail Circuit Sports Club concluded a competitive racing season before the summer by hosting a series of spectacular motorsports tournaments over the weekend.
In spite of the hot weather, around 20 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 saw Fadhel al-Khater winning the championship with a total of 91 points, while Soud al-Thani and Abdulla al-Qubaisi ended second and third 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, dominated the race from the start till the checkered flag for a commanding win.
Al-Malki, who didn’t take part in the previous rounds, was happy with his victory. “I am very happy to be back after six months and to participate and win. It will give me a lot of confidence for the next season. I will come back more prepared and you will see better results,” he said.
Ali al-Shammari finished the race in second position after battling hard with Fadhel al-Khater, who suffered a crash in the fourth lap while 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 could run again. I pushed hard to go back to my second place but Ali was very good. But overall I am happy to finish third despite the crash,” al-Khater said.
The second race of Losail 600 Cup witnessed some tough competition. The first five laps of the race saw al-Malki, al-Khater and al-Shammari riding very close, but unfortunately, al-Malki suffered 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 front till the final lap.
“Ali al-Shammari was a really good rider, today I learnt something from him. I respect all the riders, fast or slow, and it was a great honour 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.
Al-Shammari ended in second place and Soud al-Thani rounded up the podium of the second race.
For al-Shammari, it was a tough day as he had just returned from Bahrain where he participated in the Bahrain Superbike. “I am very satisfied with my result, but I am very tired having travelled from Bahrain to race here. I am happy for my result and it is a shame that in the previous round I had some technical problems with my bike and couldn’t get many points, but overall I am happy with my performance,” al-Shammari said.
Soud al-Thani was happy with his second-place finish. “In the first race, my aim was to get as much points as possible and am happy to secure second position in the championship. In Race 2, I needed to push and show my potential as I had already secured second position and had nothing to lose, so I pushed hard to make the podium again.”
The second competition of the day was the Qatar Touring Car Championship (QTCC) which saw the participation of 11 drivers in the second round of the championship.
Palestinian driver Omaran Karama won the Championship by a slender one-point margin ahead of Peter De Vido. Qatar’s Mansour al-Hajri finished third.
Qatari driver Abdulla al-Khelafi led the 10-lap race from start to finish while Peter De Vido too kept his second place throughout the race. Qatar’s Mansour al-Hajri stayed third for the better part of the race but in the final lap Omran Karama overtook him to finish third.
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 1. Peter De Vido managed to be in front for the first two laps but Abdulla al-Khelaifi took the lead in the second lap to secure a second win of the day. Omran Karama finished third again.
The winner of the championship, Karama, said he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. “The second race was hard as I started from the back. I had to push a lot and I had a great fight with Mansour. He pushed me a lot but I succeeded in taking the third place. I am ecstatic to get this title as this is the first time I was racing here,” Karama said.
Al-Hajri said he faced problems with his car: “I changed my car setting from the last race but it was not as good as in the previous round and I had a lot of problems with the under steer. But it is fine, I am happy with my third position considering the circumstances.”
The closing ceremonies for the two championships were held on Saturday and attended by Abdulrahman al-Mannai, QMMF President, and Khalid al-Remaihi, Losail Circuit Sports Club Vice-Chairman and Secretary General, who presented the trophies to the winners.