Al Sulaiti and Al Naimi set to resume rivalry at LIC

DOHA: The Qatar Superstock 600 and Qatar Touring Car Championship action resumes this weekend after a month’s break February 2 and 3.
In the second round of Qatar Superstock Championship, the defending QSTK champion  Qatar’s Saeed Al Sulaiti who took the victory in the opening round,  is ready for another racing weekend.
“I am really looking forward to the second round. The opening round was exciting and very positive for me as I got the two victories,” Al Sulaiti said.
“I hope to keep the same rhythm and performance this weekend. I have been training hard this month and I am ready for this round,” he added.
Arch-rival Mishal Al Naimi is second in the standings followed by Nasser Al Malki.
“I am ready for the second round of Qatar Superstock. After the first round, I continue to feel sick after the race and it took me almost two weeks to recover myself but now I am fine,” Al Naimi said.
“I hope me and my team can make a good result and win both races to increase our overall points. We have to change the setup of the bike and test it during the official practice this Thursday and see how is the new Ohlins suspension in the bike and what we can do,” he added.
Young Qatari rider Abdullah Al Qubaisi is fourth in the standings and hopes to get a great result and a podium as he did in the last race.
In the QSTK Trophy, Soud Al Thani won both races in this category and leads with 50 points.
Kuwaiti rider Mohammad Al Zaidan is second and Michel Delarace from France is third.
In the third round of QTCC, the points leader and defending Champion Qatar’s Abdullah Al Khelaifi dominated and won both races in the previous round and now has 10 points lead in front of Saadon Al Kuwari.
Al Khelaifi expects another thrilling competition among  the participants.
“It is very comfortable for me currently since I have the lead in the standings by 10 points but we are in the middle of the championship and anything can happen. We have seen that all the drivers are performing better in each round and I have to be prepared for the worst situation and always balance between pushing hard and maintaining the car and tires. Good luck to all the drivers,” Al Khelafi said.
Tomorrow QSTK track activity will start at 10:00am with the Free Practice 1 and QTCC activity at 2:30pm.
On Saturday, QSTK Race 1 is scheduled to start at 11:30am and Race 2 at 2:30pm. For QTCC, the first race is at 1:00pm and the second one starts at 4:00pm.
There is free entrance for all the fans at the grandstand and also at the Paddock. Qatar Superstock 600 and QTCC are organised by Losail Circuit Sports Club and Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation with Pirelli Qatar and Inside as sponsors of both championships.
The karting track will be open on both days of the championship for Adults and Kids.
Tomorrow the karting track is scheduled to be open from 5pm to 10pm and on Saturday from 2pm to 7pm, organisers said yesterday.