Doha: Abdulla Al Qubaisi, one of Qatar's top riders, yesterday won both races during the third round of the Qatar Superstock 600 to lead the championship points tally.
In the first race, Al Qubaisi who got the Superpole, was in the lead until the seventh lap, when senior pro Saeed Al Sulaiti overtook him.
Al Sulaiti managed to control the second part of the race but with two laps to go, Al Qubaisi passed him in the straight line and took the victory with a gap of 0.397.
Seasoned rider Mishal Al Naimi, who started second from the grid, finished in third place.
In the second race, Al Qubaisi lead the race during the 12 laps and crossed the checkered flag only 0.027 seconds in front of Al Naimi who finished second. Al Sulaiti finished in third place.
Al Qubaisi was very happy with his performance this weekend.
"I am really happy with this round. During the last round, I had some problems and I finished third, losing some points so for this round, my strategy was to win both races, to get some points and create a gap in the championship," Al Qubaisi said after the podium ceremony.
For Al Naimi, this weekend was perfect as he didn’t have any problem with the front tyre as was the case in previous rounds.
"This weekend was very good for us, we pushed a lot but Abdulla deserved both wins. I want to congratulate all the riders for their performance as they are improving their lap timings. The bike was perfect all the weekend, no problem at all with the tyre and hope I can do better in the next round," Al Naimi said.
Al Sulaiti had a good rhythm in the first race.
"In race one, I really had a good rhythm and was ready to fight for the win until the last two laps, where Abdulla overtook me in the straight line and it was not possible to pass him in the last sector. In the second race, the start was good for me but in the beginning I made a mistake in corner four, where I almost lose the front and went wider, so I lost time. Overall not bad but sad to lose the championship lead. But we still have two more rounds to go," Al Sulaiti said.
In the QSTK Trophy, the first place was grabbed by Jeremy Parola followed by Rayad Al Emadi and Alexander Qabazard from Kuwait in both races.
Starting from this round, there will be another category racing in the QSTK Championship, QSTK 300 Supersport with a total of eight riders from 13 to 16 years old taking part in this round.
Qatar Motorsports Academy rider Hamad Al Sahouti, only 14 years of age, won the 7-lap race.
"It was an amazing race. I am very happy with my result. I started second in the grid but I pushed in the first lap and got the first position, with a nice battle with Yousef but finally I took the win. Many thanks to Losail Circuit Sports Club and QMMF for their support," Al Sahouti said.
Yousef Al Darwish, also from Qatar, finished in second place and French rider Alexian Macary completed the podium. Pole winner Saad Al Harqan didn’t have a good start in the race and crashed in the first lap.
The trophies were presented by Abdulrahman Al Mannai (QMMF President), Khalid Al Remahi (LCSC Vice President and General Manager) and Abdulrazak Al Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary)
The fourth round of Qatar Superstock Championship will be held on February 7 and 8.
Fans can visit Losail International Circuit during the race weekend, organisers said.
The details of each round are released through media a couple of days prior to every round of the hugely popular series.
