By Sports Reporter/Doha
Team QMMF return to the FIM CEV series with renewed energy and with the aim of fighting for top positions in the Superbike class with rider Saeed al-Sulaiti.
The first race of the year was challenging for Saeed, as he faced a completely unfamiliar track. Saeed, who is a part of the QMMF structure in the Endurance World Championship, was unable to attend testing scheduled at the Portimao circuit because of a clash with the first race of the endurance series. He thus began without references at a circuit known for being extremely hilly.
Both, the team and Saeed were up to the challenge and scored points in the first round of the Superbike European Championship.
“The weekend has been good for me. In the first free practice I focused on learning the track, since it was the first time that I had ridden at this circuit. I could not test here because it coincided with the race at Le Mans but, in any case, we managed to improve with every lap and got a good time in the qualifying session. In the first race things went well for the first few laps, but the bike began to shake and that made me lose positions on the final laps. It meant I dropped from thirteenth to seventeenth,” Saeed al-Sulaiti, who participated in the series in 2013, said.
“For the second race we have a better setup that allowed me to claim my first championship point. I am very happy with the work we’ve done, and the result, so I want to thank the team, QMMF president for giving me the opportunity to return to this championship,” he said.
Team coordinator Luis R. Solano said: “We are very happy with this start to the season, because we achieved very positive results. For Saeed this was his first experience in Portimao and he is used to flat circuits like Qatar, so this track is like a rollercoaster for him and involved added difficulty. The positions obtained today are an excellent way to start the season. In the first race he lacked a bit of pace and was on the verge of entering the points, but in the second race he came out very motivated and claimed his first points in the championship.”
Saeed al-Sulaiti
