In the first race, al-Naimi front of the grid but al-Sulaiti had a good start, and led the race during the first two laps.
Al-Sulaiti did try and create a gap but al-Naimi was very close and he managed a pass in the third lap. The lead, however, was short-lived, as al-Sulaiti took the lead again in the fourth lap.
With better straight line speeds, al-Naimi was never too far from the leader, who then pushed and created a gap of 0.450 seconds in the ninth lap. Two laps later, al-Sulaiti held on to cross the checkered flag 0.154 seconds ahead of al-Naimi.
Nasser al-Malki started the race third in the grid and he held his place at the end of the race.
Abdullah al-Qubaisi and Fahad al-Sowaidi had a tough battle and the two riders traded places in the tenth lap, before the young Qatari rider al-Qubaisi passed his rival for a fourth place finish.
In the second race, al-Naimi knew he had to push the limit to stay in the title race, and so he did.
He took the lead at the start and kept increasing the gap lap-by-lap, taking advantage of his straight line speeds, eventually winning by 8.076 seconds ahead of al-Sulaiti.
Al-Malki was third yet again.
“I tried to push from the beginning but in this race I changed the setup of the bike and it was better,”al-Naimi said after the second race.
“I built a gap in the earlier laps and kept increasing the difference. In the end, I didn’t feel confident with the bike, and didn’t push too much in order to avoid a mistake. I am very happy with this win and let’s see in the final round if we can win the championship,” he said.
Al-Sulaiti tried to stay with al-Naimi but there seemed to be a problem with his bike, and he almost crashed in the first lap, costing him time.
“The start was not bad, but unfortunately the throttle was not very clean. It was cutting some times and in the corner five of the first lap, I almost highsided and crashed. I tried to keep the rhythm and catch Mashel but with this bike it was not possible. In general I am happy with the race, finished second and kept the points to still lead the championship,” he said.
Both the riders, thanked their sponsors, Ooredoo, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and the Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC).
In the second race, the battle for the fourth position was between al-Qubaisi, al-Sowaidi and Ali Al Shammari.
Eventually, al-Qubaisi managed his second straight fourth place finish of the day.
Al-Sulaiti has a five-point gap over al-Naimi going into the final round with 210 points. Al-Malki is third with 169 and al-Qubaisi fourth with 120 points.
Trophies were presented by QMMF president Abdulrahman al-Mannai and LCSC vice president and general manager Khalid al-Remaihi.
The sixth and last round of
the championship will be on May 19-20.