DOHA: Australia’s Alex Cudlin claimed his fourth consecutive Qatar SuperBike Championship title in a row when he won this year’s edition here on Saturday night at the Losail International Circuit.
With Nasser Al Malki facing engine problem, Cudlin was relaxed ahead of the two races.
In the first race, Cudlin, who started on the pole dominated the entire contest right from the begining, crossing the flag with a gap of 3.913 ahead of Mishal Al Naimi who finished in second place.
“It was a perfect race and faced no problems as I led the whole race,” Cudlin said after lifting the title.
“I am delighted to win the championship for the fourth consecutive time,” he said before recalling that after joining the QSBK four years ago he did not expect such an achievement.
“I would like to thank to the QMMF for such a wonderful season. In the second race I can relax, no pressure.”
Cudlin said he would head back to Australia ‘to relax and prepare’ for the Endurance World Championship in Germany in August followed by Le Mans.
Mishal Al Naimi, who finished second had a proble with the brake of his Honda bike.
“I am happy with the result but I had a problem with the brake,” said Naimi.
“After five laps when I tried to overtake Alex, I had to slow down to adjust the brake so I went down to the fourth place but in the last five laps, I overtook Nina and Saeed and finished second,” he explained.
Saeed Al Sulaiti who had a tough battle with Nina Prinz claimed third position. who had a problem with the clutch of his Suzuki bike just in the last two laps and finished in fourth. “This was one of my best races in lap time and performance,” Saeed commented. “I could have finished second but in the last 6 laps, I made a mistake in corner one and went out of the track and back to fifth,” he admitted before thanking the QMMF for their support.
“I would also like to thank my sponsor Nasser Bin Khaled Kawasaki (NBK) for sponsoring me this season.”
Meanwhile, in the second race of the day, Mishal Al Naimi took lead in first three laps but Alex overcame him afor the top position.
“The race was ok at the beginning, and I had a tough fight with Mishal,” added Cudlin after the second race.
Al Naimi strived till the end to get his first victory of the season. ‘
“I am overjoyed with the win and want to dedicate this victory to Ooredoo,” stated Mishal after the race.
“I was feeling good throughout the race and kept on battling with Alex.”
He added that he was elated with overall performance.
“I am very happy with my overall show in the championship as I finished as an overall third place and I thank the QMMF for such a wonderful season.”
The second place in the race went to Prinz while Saeed finished third.
Cudlin won the title with 280 points followed by Nasser Al Malki with a total of 229 points. Mishal Al Naimi who earned a total of 224 points ended third while Prinz secured fourth position with a total of 188 points.
Saad Al Morraikhi, the QMMF General Secretary, Sultan Zaher Al Morraikhi, QMMF Board Member and Rashid Al Sulaiti, QMMF PR Manager presented the trophies.
THE PENINSULA
