Michael Anderson in action during the opening round of the Qatar Off Road Championship.
Doha: South African rider Michael Anderson clinched the opening win of the year as the 2023 season of the Qatar Off Road Championship (QORC) flagged off at the Sealine region.
Anderson who finished in the second spot behind Emirati rider Mohammed Al Balooshi who topped the final standings last season, was the fastest in yesterday's round.
The South African rider completed 16 laps at the challenging 5.7km-long track in 01 hour, 22 minutes and 31.657 secs to collect full points in the opening round.
Anderson’s fastest lap was clocked at 4 minutes 58.724 secs.
Meanwhile, Al Balooshi, the first Emirati rider to take part in the legendary Dakar Rally, was 1 minute 03.990 secs slower than Anderson yesterday.
His compatriot Abdulla Lanjawi was third with a time of 01:26.48.393.
The podium winners pose for a photograph with an official.
The popular off road series, usually held over six rounds, will see two additional round this year.
Regarding the amendment to the Championship, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) Executive Director Amro Al Hamad yesterday said the decision came after requests from drivers and riders.
“We’ve done some modifications after listening to the competitors. We have increased the number of rounds. It used to be six rounds, which is three rounds of survival and three rounds of Baja. Now it has become five rounds of Baja and three rounds of survival, taking it from six rounds to eight rounds. The two extra rounds of Baja are going to be in the international Bajas that we’re going to run here in Qatar very soon as part of the World Championship," the QMMF official sad.
"It’s going to be significantly longer distances than the normal distance of the bajas that we do nationally. And this is going to encourage the competitors to go and compete on the international bajas with longer distances overseas,” Amro said.
The next round of the QORC will take place on January 26-27.
