Challenges and excitement marked the first round of the Qatar Racing Club’s (QRC) Sealine Sand Drag Competition held at the sand drag track on the shores of Sealine last week.The round was held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani, the QRC chairman.The event saw participation from champions of the sport, both from Qatar and Gulf countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Notably, Qatari youth and inspirational figure Ghanim al-Muftah, the goodwill ambassador for the State of Qatar, attended the event, engaging with participating racers throughout the two days.At the end of the first day’s competitions, Saif Awadh al-Mutairi, the director of Basil Salem Al Sabah Motor Racing Club in Kuwait, and Fahd al-Elaj, the club’s secretary, presented a commemorative shield on behalf of the Kuwaiti club to Sheikh Jabor bin Khalid al-Thani, the director of the QRC.The first day, dedicated to car and motorcycle competitions, as well as quad bikes, saw Jassim Rahimboor secure the first position in motocross category after completing the track in 5.207 seconds, leading by approximately 0.4 seconds over his closest competitor, Derek Kilian, who claimed the second position, while Hamed Rahimboor finished third.In the quad bikes category, Khaled Karam recorded the best time in the stock category, securing the first position on the podium, with Abdulaziz al-Haddad and Majid al-Dihani taking the second and third positions, respectively. Khaled Ali Karam returned to the podium in the modified category, securing his second title in this round, with Mishaal al-Fahad in second place and Dawood al-Sharshani in third place.In the 6-cylinder engine categories (stock, turbo, and nitrous oxide) Mohamed Hakmi set the fastest time in the first category, while Ali Hassan al-Mutawa claimed the second position, and Salem al-Naimi secured the third position.In the nitrous oxide category, Mohamed al-Sharshani emerged victorious with a time of 4.5 seconds, with Khalifa al-Meer in second place and Ali al-Sharshani in third place.The turbo category witnessed a triumph for Mohamed al-Dughaim, with Abdullah al-Ubaidli in second place and Bandar al-Munaikhess in third place.Moving on to the 8-cylinder engine categories, Mohamed Diab clinched the first position in the stock category, followed by Walid Salem in second place, and Khaled Yaseer in third place. Walid Salem returned to the podium, this time securing the first position in the modified category, ahead of Mohamed al-Manai in second place and Yaqoub al-Sharshani in third place.The first day also featured competitions in the Polaris category, dedicated to children, with Rashed al-Darwish winning the title, followed by Hamoud al-Sulaiti in second place and Youssef Aga in third place.On the second day of the championship, dedicated to the three Polaris categories (Stock, Modified, and Unlimited), in the stock category, racer Ali Issa al-Hamr emerged victorious, followed by Ahmed Safar in second place and his father Mohamed Safar in third place.Mohamed Safar returned to the podium after winning the modified category, surpassing the second-placed Hassan al-Kareem, while Ahmed Safar settled for third place in this category. In the most powerful category, the Unlimited, two racers, Zaid Sultan and Yaqoub Abdullah, broke the four-second barrier, with Sultan claiming the title, leaving Abdullah in second place. Ibrahim al-Darmaki secured the third position on the podium.Similarly, the buggy category witnessed strong competition, with two racers, Mohamed al-Sulaiti and Abdullah al-Sulaiti, breaking the four-second barrier. However, Mohamed al-Sulaiti emerged victorious, with Abdullah settling for second place, and a fierce battle for the third position ended with Mohamed al-Muhannadi claiming victory.In the last and most powerful category, the funco category, where all podium finishers managed to break the four-second barrier. The best time in this category was recorded by racer Muhanna al-Nuaimi, clocking in at 3.605s, securing the title as the strongest category. Abdullah al-Sulaiti followed closely, only 0.076s behind, while Mohamed al-Sulaiti’s time of 3.751s was enough to claim the final spot on the podium.As each day’s competitions concluded, Sheikh Jabor bin Khalid al-Thani awarded the winners of the first three positions in the participating categories amid a large crowd. With this, the events of the first round of the Sealine Sand Drag Competition came to an end, and preparations began immediately for the second round scheduled for December 21 and 22.
December 17, 2023 | 12:19 AM