Al Maadheed and Al Abdulghani share honours in the QTCC 2K class & Al Khelaifi takes a double win in the new QTCC M240 class

Starting from this weekend, there will be two class competing in the Qatar Touring Car Championship, QTCC 2K and QTCC M240, organised at the Lusail International Circuit.

With both classes racing together, a total of 26 drivers joined this second round of the QTCC , forming the Championship's biggest grid ever.

Ghanim Al Maadheed and Ibrahim Al Abdulghani shared honours in the QTCC 2K class and Abdulla Al Khelaifi clinched a double victory in the QTCC M240 during the second round of QTCC held this weekend.

In the first race, the Lotus Elise driver, Ghanim Al Maadheed, crossed the checkered flag in first position in the QTCC 2K class, with a total time of 24:47.340, followed by Ibrahim Al Abdulghani who is driving a Honda S2000 and Mohamed Al Aseeri also driving a Honda car.  With the reverse grid in the second race, Ghanim Al Maadheed had a problem with the throttle wire and had to abandon the race so Al Abdulghani took the win in this second race. The QTCC 2K second podium was completed by Hamad Al Asma and Nasser Al Ahbabi.

Al Abdulghani is leading the QTCC 2K class with  58 points ‘ It was a really great round for me. In the first race I  had a small issue with the car but I managed to stay in second place as in the qualifying. In the second race, unfortunately Ghanim had an issue with his car in the first laps so it was easier for me to overtake the other drivers with the reverse grid and I ended in first place in my class. Hopefully he can fix the car and be back in the next round as his presence is really good for the championship’ said Al Abdulghani.

In the new class, QTCC M240,  where all the drivers are competing with the same car, Abdulla Al Khelaifi had a great performance winning both races in his class. 'It is really nice to finish again first on both races. The second race with the reverse grid was really tough, with many accidents,  mistakes even from my side and the conditions of the tyres at the end of the day didn't help.  I am glad I did a clean race and finish without any issue is the best for me although there is a small thing in the car but doesn’t affect the performance so hopefully can be fix for the next round’ said Al Khelaifi.

Hamad Al Sulaiti, who is driving for first time a racing car, was very happy to finish second in both races in the QTCC M240 class ‘ It was a very good weekend for me with an incredible experience driving this car for first time. I enjoyed it a lot and everybody is driving under the same conditions, all is about the driver and his ability so you can test yourself. I hope to continue like this in the coming round’ stated Al Sulaiti.

The rally driver Roger Feghali, who is 14 times Lebanese Rally champion, took part in the QTCC M240 class and ended third in both races.  The Lebanese driver didn’t expect this result as it was his first time that was racing in a race track  'It is my first time that I drive in a circuit with a racing car and I love it. It took me some time to memorise the circuit but it is a great experience after driving always rally cars.  I love this format where everybody has the same car, same mechanics so all depends on the driver and the skills. I really didn't expect to finish third at all, I was just hoping to finish the races and take some experience. The second race was even harder with the reverse grid. I enjoyed a lot.’ said Feghali.

Trophies were presented by Mr. Abdulrahman Al Mannai (QMMF President), Mr. Abdulrazak Al Kuwari (QMMF General Secretary) and Mr. Khalid Al Remaihi (LCSC Vice President & General Manager).

The next round will be on the 24th & 25th January 2020