Former Qatar Superstock 600 champion Saeed Al Sulaiti is one victory away from confirming a title this season as he stormed to win his second consecutive race in the Qatar Online Racing Championship (QORC) on Tuesday.
With two victories in the three-leg final stage of the series, the popular Qatari rider raised his expectations of winning the inaugural QORC title by collecting 80 points, eight clear of his closest rival Soud Al Thani (72).
The former World Superbike racer, Al Sulaiti kept his pace throughout the 15 laps on a virtual e Brne Circuit in Brne, Czech Republic and sealed the victory in 28:36.710 despite two crashes.
It was a repeat of the previous podium as Soud finished in the second spot again while Khalid Al Maraghi came third. K u w a i t i g a m e r Mohamad Al Zaidan was fourth. Jeremy Parola, known as the ‘Flying Frenchman’ made a remarkable comeback after staring 8th in the grid to enter the top 5.
Earlier, Al Sulaiti’s pole position was decided by just 0.578 secs when he clocked 01:52.590 for his fastest lap during the qualifying round. Soud was second while the reigning QSTK600 champion and Sulaiti’s familiar opponent on real track, Abdullah Al Qubaisi completed the front row in the starting grid.
The riders will now head for the third and final round of the QORC finals which will take place today. With all motoracing action coming to a halt due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic around the world, the online championship is providing some sort of relief for action-starving fans. The series, played on PlayStation 4 platform of MotoGP 19 game, is organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF).
