By Sports Reporter/Doha

Emirati rider Mohamed al-Balooshi impressed in the opening round of the Qatar International Enduro at Sealine yesterday winning both the races in the E2 category. The defending championship led both the races from start to end.

In the first race, al-Balooshi finished 1.375 seconds ahead of Kuwait’s Mohamed Jaffar who won the E1 category.

Saeed al-Shenqiti of UAE and Moath al-Ansari of Kuwait finished second and third respectively in the E2 category, while Kuwaiti riders Abdullah al-Shatti and Tariq al-Hattab rounded up the podium for the E1 category.

In the second race, al-Balooshi increased the gap to 8.796 seconds between him and Jaffar at the finish line.

While the top three remained unchanged for the second race in the E2 category, the E1 category saw Jaffar and al-Shatti finish ahead of Barak al-Jasmi, also of Kuwait.

“I started the season with a good lead; I am where I finished last season, leading the championship and it is always good to begin with victories. Now it is time to play smart, do what is necessary to keep the gap and take it race by race. Today the track was a bit longer, almost 6km but it was nice and more technical than last races, it is a challenging track and I like it,” al-Balooshi said.

Jaffar also was upbeat after the wins. “It was a good start of the year for me, winning the first race of the year in my category. The track was very nice and I enjoyed a lot,” he said.

French rider Anthony Claude won both the races in the quads category.

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah thanked to all the teams and riders for their participation in the opening round of the competition.