A driver competes in an earlier edition of the Qatar National Sprint Championship in this file photo.
Doha: The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) is planning to resume the 2020 season in October with events that were halted because of the COVID-19 situation, according to a top QMMF official.
According to details, QMMF is in contact with world governing bodies FIA (cars) and FIM (bikes) on the possible dates to resume the national calendar of events.
Amro Al Hamad, the Executive Director of QMMF, said Qatar will following all medical protocols put in place by FIA and FIM to resume motorsport events following the break in action due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe since February this year.
“Once we get the go-ahead from the FIA, the FIM and the Qatar government, we shall resume our events,” Al Hamad said yesterday.
“We hope to resume the season with the 2020 Qatar National Sprint Championship, a series that is very popular in Qatar.
“The dates of the 2020 Qatar National Sprint will be announced in the coming weeks,” the QMMF official informed.
“We wanted to complete the season before March but when the COVID-19 restrictions were applied by the government of Qatar, we quickly halted our events,” he said.
“The Qatar National Sprint had a record participation of 64 entries in the last round we staged. We saw 56 entries in the second round and we are aiming for a new participation record in 2020 when we resume action,” Al Hamad said.
“We are also looking at hosting last two rounds of the 2020 Qatar National Baja. Three rounds have already been staged. The aim of QMMF is to seal these two national events despite the delays and postponements because of the COVID-19 restrictions,” Al Hamad said.
The QMMF Executive Director said the Redbull Drifting series - that was postponed because of the COVID-19 situation - is expected to run as part of the QMMF calendar. The top QMMF official said the Batabit events will also merge into QMMF calendar of events.
He said more details of the two series will be made public once negotiations with sponsors are complete.
Despite break in live action the last three months, QMMF successfully conducted the Qatar Online Racing Championships (QORC) in April, May and June. The events - contested by top riders and drivers in Qatar and around the region - were held digitally.
In the last QORC competition held in June, QMMF riders - headed by Saeed Al Sulaiti - beat Leopard Racing team in a six-round series held on famous circuits around the world. Al Sulaiti won the title after taking the lead in the overall standings with 232 points. Al Sulaiti’s compatriot Saud Al Thani came in second in the overall tally with 172 points.
Marcus Ramirez of Leopard Racing team finished in third spot with a score 154 points ahead of his team-mate Denise Fujiya in fourth place with 102 points. In team competitions, Qatari riders collected 617 championship points while Leopard Racing team, the reigning Moto2 world champions, collected 573 points.
“We are confident that motorsport activities will resume with fanfare,” Al Hamad said.
“As a motorsport enthusiast, I don’t want to just end the season because of the COVID-19 situation. So many federations around the world stopped sports action. I want to complete the remaining part of the season, seal the season with strict medical protocols announced for everyone’s safety,” he said.
“I want to get a champion for Qatar National Sprint Championship and the Qatar National Baja this season,” he added.
