Abdullah Al Khelaifi.
Qatar Touring Car Championship (QTCC) winner Abdullah Al Khelaifi will make his TCR Europe debut at Hungaroring this week.
The TCR Europe is a seven-stop car championship that begins in April and ends in October.
“We will have practice sessions on Saturday and we will shoot for the best in qualifying the same day,” Al Kheliafi said ahead of his departure for Hungary on Thursday.
“In terms of preparations, there wasn’t any official practice or testing in Qatar the past few days. I had some preparation in terms of fitness and simulation to know the track and to understand the car a little more,” the 29-year-old added.
“The first round will be very interesting. We hope to get as much experience as we can. It will give us the chance to create a data and to improve our performances for the next round. It will help us to know where we have made mistakes,” Al Khelaifi, who is being sponsored by Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), said.
“I think this process is a long one. I don’t think I will be able to maximise in the first leg of the championships. There are no high expectations,” Al Khelaifi said. “Everything is new for us. I will see how I will place on the grid with other drivers. Then we can improve little by little to compete at our best,” he added.
“One thing what we will have is the WTCR which is like World Touring Car Championship. They will have their round in the same circuit. They will be using the same car and same tyre but they will race separate from us. It will give us a chance to see where we are compared to European drivers in WTCR,” Al Khelaifi said.
When asked about his races this year in Europe, Al Khelaifi said: “There will be one round in Hungary, one in Poland, one round in Italy, Spain, Belgium and Germany with a round in Austria. It’s the opposite of our season here. They start the season over there in April. It will continue until end of October. By then I will come back and compete locally.”
In an earlier chat, Al Khelaifi said he was all geared up for his debut.
“I am looking forward to this summer’s activities. It is the most competitive series in the world after WTCR. That’s a great opportunity for me to participate and learn from the drivers and on those tracks,” Al Khelaifi said when he announced plans of his debut at TCR Europe series.
“More than half of the tracks where this series is contested are part of the motor sport world. It will be a great learning curve for me, a steep learning curve. Hopefully, I can manage to learn as I go along and long-term I can compete using that experience,” he added.
Al Khelaifi said he had time to get ready mentally and physically for the series opener on April 27 and 28.
“This series will start with the first round at Hungaroring, a race track in Mogyorod, Hungary, at the end of April. That will be great. Before that - perhaps two weeks before the race - there will be a test session for me in order for me to get into shape. That would also be an opportunity to meet my team and team officials ahead of the first round,” Al Khelaifi said.
The Qatari driver said making a debut at TCR Europe is part of his long-term ambitions.
“My long-term goals are ambitious. I started from WTCC. Basically I always want to go to the highest level of competition which is the WTCR. We had some rounds here in Qatar. My goal, eventually, is to reach WTCR,” Al Khelaifi said.
“I want to represent Qatar if we have one round here. Hopefully I can inspire the youth to follow this event and I want to spread the motor sport mentality among the youth of the country.
Eventually I will retire but we want to see new faces and new talent. I am sure we will get better drivers than me or they will do more than I would ever accomplish. I started rather late. The younger drivers have a better chance to learn more and faster. They develop faster. Hopefully I can inspire people with what I do,” he added.
“One thing I learned from QTCC is that I never better myself unless I have some competition. If I am leading comfortably then I don’t develop at all. So this gives me great motivation. I know I won’t be competing for bigger things in PCR but I know I have higher goals so from different competitors and that will push me harder so that I become better,” he said.
He added: “I can’t believe that I am going to feature in this championship. This was not on the table until last week. So it is unbelievable. I am going to enjoy and push myself and get maximum experience.”
