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Tribune News Network
DOHA
A record number of 28 drivers contested in the fourth and penultimate round of the Qatar Touring Car Championship at the Losail International Circuit, producing another weekend of thrilling races.
In the QTCC 2K Class, Lotus Elise driver Ghanim al Maadheed dominated once again and won both races, opening an encouraging 19-point gap over closest challenger Ibrahim al Abdulghani.
In the first race, Maadheed clocked 25:07.938 to win the first race, beating Mohamed al Aseeri and Abdulaziz Abdulla. With the reverse grid in the second race, it took only one lap for Maadheed come to the front and maintain his lead till the finish. Hamad al Asam came second and Abdulaziz Abdulla secured the third place.
Maadheed was very pleased with another double. “Two amazing races and I won with no problems at all with the car. Hopefully the last round will be the same, helping me win the title,” Maadheed commented.
Abdulaziz Abdulla stepped on the podium for a first time in the season.“It was a great weekend for me with fantastic races. A lot of action on the track and I really enjoyed every moment of it. With the reverse grid in the second race it was more exciting and I am very happy to be back on the podium after long time, an excited Abdulaziz said.
In the QTCC M240 Class, Hamad al Sulaiti won clinched the first race with 22:43.617. Saadon al Kuwari and Abdulla al Khelaifi followed him in the second and third spots, respectively.
In the second race of QTCC M240, with the reverse grid, Nasser Al Kuwari who started from fourth position, lead the race from the first lap and crossed the chequered flag with a total time of 22:45.476. Abdulla Al Khelaifi and Hamad Al Sulaiti finished second and third, respectively, in the second race.
Sulaiti, who is leading the QTCC M240 championship with eight points in front of Khelaifi, was extremely happy with the results. “This weekend has been very positive for me. I took my first pole, grabbed the first and third places in the races and am leading the championship. The car is very good but we need to keep working until the last round as it will be very tight and competitive,” Sulaiti commented.
The second race winner and third in the standings, Nasser was also satisfied with his racing. “In the first race I had an issue with my car. I want to thank my team and my dad for fixing the car for the second race. In the second race, right from the beginning I tried to push and pass the three cars in front of me on the grid. I overtook them in corner 1 and started to pull clear so they don’t catch me. I opened a good gap so in the middle of the race and kept it until the end,” Nasser said.
“I want to congratulate Hamad al Sulaiti for leading in the championship. He is a very good driver and improving race by race. Also I am happy to see that all the drivers are improving every time and the grid is increasing each round. Let us see, if we can have 30 cars in the last round,” he added.
Trophies were presented by Abdulrahman al Mannai (QMMF President), Abdulrazak al Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary) and Khalid al Remaihi (LCSC Vice-President and General Manager).
The QTCC fifth and last round will be held on March 13 and 14 as support race
for the Superbike World Championship.
DOHA
A record number of 28 drivers contested in the fourth and penultimate round of the Qatar Touring Car Championship at the Losail International Circuit, producing another weekend of thrilling races.
In the QTCC 2K Class, Lotus Elise driver Ghanim al Maadheed dominated once again and won both races, opening an encouraging 19-point gap over closest challenger Ibrahim al Abdulghani.
In the first race, Maadheed clocked 25:07.938 to win the first race, beating Mohamed al Aseeri and Abdulaziz Abdulla. With the reverse grid in the second race, it took only one lap for Maadheed come to the front and maintain his lead till the finish. Hamad al Asam came second and Abdulaziz Abdulla secured the third place.
Maadheed was very pleased with another double. “Two amazing races and I won with no problems at all with the car. Hopefully the last round will be the same, helping me win the title,” Maadheed commented.
Abdulaziz Abdulla stepped on the podium for a first time in the season.“It was a great weekend for me with fantastic races. A lot of action on the track and I really enjoyed every moment of it. With the reverse grid in the second race it was more exciting and I am very happy to be back on the podium after long time, an excited Abdulaziz said.
In the QTCC M240 Class, Hamad al Sulaiti won clinched the first race with 22:43.617. Saadon al Kuwari and Abdulla al Khelaifi followed him in the second and third spots, respectively.
In the second race of QTCC M240, with the reverse grid, Nasser Al Kuwari who started from fourth position, lead the race from the first lap and crossed the chequered flag with a total time of 22:45.476. Abdulla Al Khelaifi and Hamad Al Sulaiti finished second and third, respectively, in the second race.
Sulaiti, who is leading the QTCC M240 championship with eight points in front of Khelaifi, was extremely happy with the results. “This weekend has been very positive for me. I took my first pole, grabbed the first and third places in the races and am leading the championship. The car is very good but we need to keep working until the last round as it will be very tight and competitive,” Sulaiti commented.
The second race winner and third in the standings, Nasser was also satisfied with his racing. “In the first race I had an issue with my car. I want to thank my team and my dad for fixing the car for the second race. In the second race, right from the beginning I tried to push and pass the three cars in front of me on the grid. I overtook them in corner 1 and started to pull clear so they don’t catch me. I opened a good gap so in the middle of the race and kept it until the end,” Nasser said.
“I want to congratulate Hamad al Sulaiti for leading in the championship. He is a very good driver and improving race by race. Also I am happy to see that all the drivers are improving every time and the grid is increasing each round. Let us see, if we can have 30 cars in the last round,” he added.
Trophies were presented by Abdulrahman al Mannai (QMMF President), Abdulrazak al Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary) and Khalid al Remaihi (LCSC Vice-President and General Manager).
The QTCC fifth and last round will be held on March 13 and 14 as support race
for the Superbike World Championship.
