The second round of Qatar Superstock 600 and Qatar Touring Car Championship will take place this weekend, 3rd & 4th February at the Losail International Circuit.
In the opening round of the Qatar Superstock 600, we saw an exciting and thrilling battle between Mishal al-Naimi, Saeed al-Sulaiti and Nasser al-Malki and this weekend the fight between these riders is expected to continue.
The victory in both races was for al-Naimi who is now leading the championship with 50 points. Al-Naimi has been training hard this week, taking part in the last track days at Losail International Circuit in order to be ready for the second round.
“I am feeling better every time with my bike and I have more confidence with the front. I have good speed to make a good lap time and in the last track day I am faster than in the first round, so I think I can do it better for the next round. I have to be ready for a tough battle as I think all the riders are going very fast and improving,” said al-Naimi.
“Round 1 was a real fight with al-Sulaiti and I hope that next round will be just as spectacular for the spectators,” added al-Naimi.
Al-Sulaiti was the runner-up in both races of last round and even he was happy with his performance he will try to change his strategy to take the victory. “In the first round I was struggling in the straight line only and for next round I will try to change my technic as I was trying to run away but it was not working at all. Mishal and Nasser have less weight than me so I am trying to lose a bit of weight to run between them,’ said al-Sulaiti
“For the rest, I am expecting again a big battle between me and Mishal and Nasser and next race we’ll see some surprises with big improvements from other riders as Abdullah al-Qubaisi who is doing very well in the last track days and I expect a big jump in his performance compared to round 1,” added al-Sulaiti
The 17-year-old al-Qubaisi, the youngest rider in the championship, is working very hard in his fitness and riding skills and in the last track day he improved significantly his lap timing dropping 3 seconds from last week. “Every time I feel much better on the bike and I have more confidence. In the last track day, I am faster than in the last race and I dropped 3 seconds my lap timing. I hope to make a better result in the next round and a big thanks to QMMF, Losail Circuit Sports Club and my coach al-Sulaiti for their support,” said al-Qubaisi.
In the championship standings, al-Sulaiti is second with 40 points and al-Malki is third with 32 points. Ali al-Shammari and Fahad al-Sowaidi are in fourth position with 24 points.
Tomorrow, the track activity will start at 10:00am with the Free Practice 1 and the Free Practice 2 will be at 1:15pm. Superpole 1 is scheduled at 3:45pm and Superpole 2 at 4:10pm. On Saturday, the Race 1 will start at 11:30am and Race 2 at 2:30pm.
In the Qatar Touring Car Championship, we also witnessed a tough competition on the opening round between the front three drivers Abdullah al-Khelaifi, Mansoor al-Hajri and Omran Karama and the excitement is expected to continue this weekend.
The leader of the championship, Abdullah al-Khelaifi is looking forward to another thrilling battle with Mansoor and Omran. “I really want to start the second race of the championship, all my preparations are going well and I am ready for another exciting race with the others. They are getting better timings so for sure this round will be more challenging for all of us,” said al-Khelaifi.
The QTCC Practice will be today at 2:30pm and the races are scheduled on Saturday at 1:00pm and at 4:00pm.
There is free entrance for all the fans at the grandstand and also at the Paddock.
File picture of Mishal al-Naimi and Saed al-Sulaiti during the first round.
