Doha: Four races are set for the weekend at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar Motor and
Motorcycle Federation informed here yesterday.
Setting the tone will be the first rounds of the Qatar SuperBike and Qatar Challenge together with the first round of the MRF Challenge Series, held for the first time in Qatar.
The action will be complete with the twin races of the MX Losail championship today at the Losail MX Circuit.
The centre of attraction will be focussed on the SuperBike championship.
Defending champion Alex Cudlin will be the man to beat and it remains to be seen if anyone can stop him from clinching his fifth time in a row.
“I am looking forward to the new season and I am excited to get started. Last season I won the championship again but in the very last race of the season. I feel to finish on the top I will have to make a good start. I think we will have a strong competition this year, just like the previous years, from Mishal, Nasser, Saeed and Nina,” Cudlin who rides a Kawasaki ZX10R for the QMMF Team said.
Cudlin said new riders have shown improvement and they too will pose a challenge.
“Some new riders are coming so the challenge is bigger, but I think the team is working really good and we will be able to get a good result this year. Hopefully I can win again but it is a long season, so we’ll see. I am happy to return again to Losail and be again with QMMF team after the win in Le Mans 24 hours Endurance five weeks ago, so it is nice to come back to Qatar,” the Australian rider said yesterday at the Circuit.
Cudlin march to the title will face a tough test. Challenging him will be Qatari riders Nasser Al Malki and Mishal Al Naimi, who finished second and third respectively last season.
Al Naimi is very confident with the bike and excited to start the new season.
“I want to thank to Ooreedo to continue with us for another season and I am happy and ready to make a good result. For the first round, I know that there are new riders and big names from last year, Alex, Nina, Nasser and Saeed so the competition will be tough. For sure, this season will prove to be better for me than last year. The championship is stronger than the previous one and good luck for all riders” stated Al Naimi.
The German rider Nina Prinz, also with a Kawasaki ZX10R, who finished third in the standings last season, hopes to push very hard. “I will use the Kawasaki bike as it was not possible to bring the Suzuki again, so I hope that this bike will be good for me. I am positive for the season and happy that QMMF supports me again and hope I can learn more about the bike very soon and improve my results this season,” Nina said after registration for the new season.
The Qatari rider Saeed Al Sulati, who ended in fourth position last championship is very confident with his bike and hopes to have a good season.
“I feel very confident, specially in the last round we were able to notch good timings and performance, so I think it is a push for this season and for sure this time I will go for the podium. I continue with the same bike, the same team so I hope to have good results again” said Al Sulaiti.
The Losail Asian Road Racing Series (LARRS) will also be held along with the Qatar SuperBike, like in previous editions.
In the LARRS, defending champion Manca Katrasnik, will try to retain the title.
“I am really happy to be racing again. I hope this year it will be as successful as last season and a repeat of the good results I got. Thanks to QMMF for this opportunity again,” said the Serbian rider.
The opening season of Qatar Challenge will be also he held this weekend and a tough competition is expected with a number of experienced drivers taking part in the championship.
In addition to this championship, the Circuit will also host the fist round of the three-stop MRF Challenge sereis.
The first Indian-based Motorsport series will have the opening round at Losail International Circuit under the floodlights. The single-seater racing category in India will host the second round in Bahrain and the last one in Chennai.
The spotlight in the MRF Challenge will be on Freddie Hunt and Mathias Lauda, the sons of former Formula One World Champion James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
James Hunt, a British racing driver, won the Formula One World Championship in 1976.
Niki Luada won it in 1975, 1977 and 1984.
Last year ‘Rush’ a Formula One biopic of the rivalry between Hunt and his Austrian friend Lauda was released.
In the film, Academy Award winner Ron Howard depicts the story of how Hunt and Lauda’s friendship and rivalry grew from the days of competing as young men in Formula 3 to that famous day in 1976 when Hunt clinched the World Championship from Lauda by a single point in Japan, after one of the most exciting and dramatic seasons in F1 history.
Free practice and qualifying practices for QSBK and QCH and two races of MRF Challenge will be held today.
Two more races of MRF challenge will held tomorrow along with the races of QSBK and QCH.
The main grandstand is open to the public, informed the organisers
Nasser Khalifa bin Al Attiyah, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle F (QMMF) President and Losail International Circuit General Manager said the new season of Qatar SuperBike and Qatar Challenge will be a highly competitive one.
“Last year we finished the season in a very high performance and high quality challenge between the riders and drivers, and for sure this year, the level of the championships will be higher as we have more entries and the quality of all the riders will give bigger challenge to all the participants. I am also happy that Losail International Circuit hosts the opening round of the MRF Challenge and for sure it will be a great success,” the QMMF President said.
The Peninsula
