Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) President Abdulrahman Al Mannai and Executive Director Amro Al Hamad are seen with the overall winners of the Qatar National Sprint Championship. The fifth and final round of the season was held yesterday in Lo
Doha: The 2020 Qatar National Sprint Championship, organised by Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), concluded with the fifth and final round held at Losail on Saturday.
The hugely popular series, which had begun in January, was extended over the year following the forced ‘coronavirus pandemic’ break.
Amro Al Hamad, QMMF Executive Director, expressed his happiness with the great participation of 44 competitors despite the exceptional coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) circumstances.
“We did not expect this great participation, especially since some of the contestants were unable to participate from outside Qatar due to the current coronavirus situation,” Al Hamad said.
“When some countries cancelled their sports activities, we worked during the period. We thank the FIA for their efforts throughout the past period and all contestants for adhering to the precautionary measures and Ministry of Public Health protocols,” Al Hamad said.
“The 2020 Qatar National Sprint was very strong until the end, especially in some categories where the results were decided by a point’s difference. It also reflects the strong competition throughout an entire season. In the final round we amended the speed and changed the course which made the competition tougher,” he added.
Al Hamad also revealed that a new version of the championship will be launched in the new year in January, and therefore the competition will return quickly and will be held in the same categories.
The QMMF will be meeting the contestants soon to find out if some ruled could be changed in order to attract more competitors, Al Hamad said.
In the final round on Saturday, 44 participants in six different categories of Open and Production Cars made attempts before their best results were taken into account in crowning the season’s champions.
Abdulaziz Al Jabri emerged best in the O1 category, Mohammed Al Khayarin in O2, and Abdullah Al Khelaifi in O3.
Henry Kahy topped the overall P1 category, followed by Al Jaber (P2), and Francesco Fornaciari (P3).
In the Open 1 class, Abdulaziz Al Jaber won the title for a second year in a row collecting 104 points -- a difference of 11 points over his closest competitor Abdullah Al Khelaifi.
Khelaifi recorded the fastest lap of 52.358secs during his second attempt, especially since Al Jabri maintained his pace and finished second in 54.472secs in his third attempt, while Iyad Al Aker came third with a time of 54.655secs in his first attempt.
In the O2 category, competition was exciting until the final round. Mohammed Al Khayarin snatched the title managing to win the fifth round with a time of 52.982secs, 0.308secs ahead of his closest rival Mohamed Al Basti.
In the O3 category, Abdullah Al Khelaifi compensated for his failure in the O1 category to claim the overall title finishing on top in the final round with a time of 52.333secs, a difference of 0.515secs from Abdullah Al Abbasi, second-placed.
Yousef Al Jabri finished third in 54.001secs.
In the P1 category, Lebanon’s Henry Kahy emerged as the overall winner with a tally of 104 points. His compatriot Mansour Shibli was second with 70 points, and Qatari Saad Fahd, who won the fifth round, finished overall third (69pts).
