Podium winners are seen with Abdulrahman Al Mannai, QMMF President, Abdulrazak Al Kuwari, QMMF General Secretary, and Khalid Al Remaihi who is the LCSC Vice President and General Manager.
Doha: Exciting races were witnessed at the Losail International Circuit where the third round of the Qatar Touring Car Championship (QTCC) was held with an incredible grid of 27 cars.
In the QTCC 2K Class, Lotus Elise driver, Ghanim Al Maadheed, won both races in his categories to lead the championship with 76 points.
Al Maadheed, who blew up his engine during the Qualifying session on Friday, managed to fix the car on time and be ready for the race.
In the first race, Al Maadheed finished in first place with a time of 24:54.727, followed by Mohamed Al Aseeri who was driving a Honda Civic and Hamad Al Asam in a Honda VC5.
With the reverse grid in the second race, it took only one lap to Al Maadheed to overtake the front cars and take the lead in his category.
He won the second race in front of Nasser Al Ahbabi with a Toyota GT86 and Abdulla Al Abbasi with a Honda Integra.
"I had an engine problem during the Qualifying session on Friday and I had to change the whole engine. The team has been working very hard to fix. Although the car is not perfect 100 percent, but I am very happy to take the double win this weekend," Al Maadheed said.
"The race was hard, a tough start with some few accidents at the beginning and hard to get rid of the first lap. We had a big battle for the position. I have to say the weather was too hot and caused stressed to the tyres as well but I am happy with my podium finish," Al Asam said.
In the QTCC M240 Class, the win in the first race was clinched by Nasser Al Kuwari followed by Hamad Al Sulaiti and Saadon Al Kuwari.
The first race was delayed due some positioning of the cars on the grid and after the second green light, Al Kuwari took the lead from the start until the finish line. Abdulla Al Khelaifi had a mechanical issue in the last lap and didn’t finish the first race.
"This weekend I learned a lot from Abdulla and Hamad and want to thank them. First race was very good. I was smart in the start, as with the delayed start, the other drivers were in tension and I managed to remain clam, so after the second green light, I jumped first and as the circuit was clear in front of me, I did 2 or 3 flying laps and kept the gap. I managed the race from the start to the finish," Al Kuwari said.
In the second race of QTCC M240, Hamad Al Sulaiti took the first position in the podium, followed by Abdulla Al Khelaifi and Saadon Al Kuwari.
Al Sulaiti was happy with his first victory.
"This weekend has been amazing, second in the first race and winner in the second race. The second race, with the reverse grid, I started from back and I finish first, this is incredible for me and also I did the fastest lap, so I cannot ask for more being my first season in this championship," Al Sulaiti said.
The QTCC defending champion Al Khelaifi overall was happy with his performance this weekend.
"In the first race, I had a really bad start because of the delayed start and I was fighting for the position until I had a mechanical issue at the last lap - it was overheating and I retired the race," Al Khelaifi said.
"In the second race, I came with no expectation as I thought I would start at the back of the grid but since I finished 70 percent of the first race I kept my position and started from the front. I tried to get away from Hamad, Nasser and Saadon, it was a really tough race. Hamad was really pressuring me to make mistakes but he was quicker and better pace and when I close the door, he managed to overtake me all time and at the last lap he won the race. Congratulations to Hamad - he is a real champion and today he deserved the win," Al Khelaifi added.
Saadon Al Kuwari, who joined this round of the QTCC M240, was happy with his results after a long break from racing.
"It was a good weekend for me and I am happy to be at the podium for the both races considering that I don’t drive and compete for a long time. In the first race, I tried during 3 or 4 laps to pass Abdulla but then Hamad came and I made a mistake. I went out and I couldn’t reach them. Hamad did a great time, one second faster than the qualifying, which is amazing," Al Kuwari said.
The trophies were presented by Abdulrahman Al Mannai, QMMF President, Abdulrazak Al Kuwari, QMMF General Secretary, and Khalid Al Remaihi who is the LCSC Vice President and General Manager.
The next round will be held on Feb 7 and 8.
