Qatar’s Abdulla al-Qubaisi and Saeed al-Sulaiti won a race each in the opening round of Qatar Superstock 600 Championship at the Losail International Circuit. In the first race, al-Qubaisi, the last season’s overall runner-up, led from pole position to win. Al-Sulaiti came second, followed by Mashel al-Naimi. The newcomer from Bulgaria, Mihail Florov finished in fourth place. In the second race, al-Sulaiti pushed from the start and clinched the victory ahead of al-Qubaisi and al-Naimi.
Al-Qubaisi was pleased with his performance during the weekend. “In the first race, the bike was very good and I made a gap from the beginning but in the last two laps I started to lose the front tyre and almost crashed. Saeed almost caught me in the last lap but I managed to hold on. In Race 2, I was able to finish in the first position but in the last laps, I came across with the slow riders and they made me slow my rhythm,” he said. 
The defending QSTK600 champion, al-Sulaiti, was satisfied with his results. “It was a difficult round as Abdulla and Mashel are very well prepared. In race 1, I noticed that Abdulla and Mishal slowed their rhythm due to a problem with the front tyre and I took advantage of that and got closer to them. In the last two laps, I was trying to overtake Abdulla but it was too risky with the slow riders and I preferred to secure the second place. In second race, I decided to push from the beginning, so I kept the rhythm and stayed in front until the end of the race,” said al-Sulaiti.
Al-Naimi said he had some problems with his front tyre and was hoping to solve it for the coming round. “The first race was difficult. I was fast in the middle of the race but I couldn’t follow Abdulla and Saeed. The bike was perfect in the second race, I stayed with Abdulla and Saeed the first half of the race but after that I had a problem with the front tyre and almost crashed. Overall I am happy and hope the next round will be better. Thanks to Ooredoo for sponsoring me and to QMMF and LCSC for their support,” al-Naimi said. 
In the QSTK Trophy Race 1, Rayad al-Emadi finished first followed by the French rider Jeremy Parola and the Australia’s Alastair Cunliffe respectively.  In the second race, Parola took the victory followed by al-Emadi and the Kuwaiti rider Alexander Qabazard.  Trophies were presented by Major General Mohamed Saad al-Kharji (Director General of Traffic Headquarters), Eng. Fahad Rashid al-Kaabi (Manateq CEO), Jaber Bin Talib Bin Afifah (former rally driver), Abdulrahman al-Mannai (QMMF President), Khalid al-Remaihi (LCSC Vice President and General Manager) and Abdulrazak al-Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary)
The second round of Qatar Superstock Championship will be held on January 10th & 11th.