Al Naimi and Al Sulaiti share honours in the second round

In the second round of Qatar Superstock 600, the exciting and thrilling battle we saw in the opening round continued between Mashel Al Naimi and Saeed Al Sulaiti.

After the Superpole, it was clear that Saeed Al Sulaiti would push very hard to win as the made the best lap time, 2:04.578, getting his first ever pole position at Lusail International Circuit. ‘I am very happy to get my first pole position at Lusail and I feel very good today in the bike, so I will push to the limit for the victory’ said Al Sulaiti after the Superpole.In the first race, Saeed took the lead during almost half of the race, with Mishal very close to him. In the fifth lap, Mishal overtook Saeed and stayed in the front only during one lap, as Saeed gained again the first position in the lap sixth.Saeed knew that Mishal is faster than him in the straight line so he pushed to the limit to create as much gap as possible from Mishal in order to reach the last corner with the maximum difference but Mishal managed to pass him just two laps to go and take again the victory.‘The race was good, I had a good start, I was leading the first five laps and then I saw Mishal right in my back so I Iet him lead for a few laps and stayed behind him to study him a bit. I did that and it worked as I was able to overtake him, I was trying to make a gap in the last part of the race but then the weather changed, more wind and I was losing fracture of a second and he caught me again, he overtook me two laps to go. In the last lap, I tried to overtake him again but he knew the spot I was planning to overtake him and unfortunately we passed one of the overlapped riders and I lose more time again and I could overtake him again’‘I suffer a lot with this weather, I had problem with my arm band from second lap, I tried to push but I cannot. After six laps, he made a gap I pushed to the limit but all my body cramped and I suffered a lot. At the ninth lap I pushed hard, making my fastest lap of the race and close the gap.’ said Mishal.‘I stayed behind Saeed until three laps and before the last lap I tried to see where I can overtake Saeed, this time he was very fast, and he didn’t do any mistake in the race. With this wind I had more advantage in the straight line and I caught him so I stayed in front until the checkered flag’ ended Mishal.The third place was for Nasser Al Malki ‘ I had a good start but in the first corner I lost the gear so I went out of the track. When I came back there were too much riders in front of me and then I tried to passed some riders during three laps but at the end Mishal and Saeed created a big gap and I couldn’t get close to them. The weather changed in the middle of the race so I didn’t want to take any risk, keep the rhythm and finish in the third place at the podium’ said Al Malki.In the second race , the win was finally for Al Sulaiti by only 0.012 ahead of Al Naimi. After the start of the race, Mashel took the lead during four laps but Saeed overtook him in the fifth lap. In the last lap, they were riding so close that both riders touched their bikes and Mishal went wide, so Saeed could get some distance and managed to win the race.‘I am very happy for this win. I am training very hard and finally the result has come. Regarding the race, I tried to pushed from the beginning and just go, because in the first race, my plan was to go and then let Mishal stayed behind me but it didn’t work. So, in the second race it was a really funny fight from the beginning until the last lap. In the last lap, in the first corner we had a touch, I want to say sorry to him, I was a bit aggressive but this is racing and we are fighting for the victory’ said Saeed.‘At the end we finished very close and I am really happy that I win and of course I will try to win again in the next round. Many thanks to everybody that is supporting me, to QMMF and LCSC for their support and organizing this great championship’ added Saeed.‘It was a very good race, I struggled a lot to be in the front but today it was very difficult to be in front of Saeed. Today he really pushed to the limit. In the last lap I tried to overtake him in the straight, but when I arrived to the first corner my gear didn’t come and I felt something. I wanted to enter in the corner and I touched with Saeed, I went wide and I tried to recover the gap and I pushed a lot in the last lap his front tyre was just in front of me’ said Mishal.‘This is a good fight for the championship and I hope next time, there will be more fight to show people how challenging and competitive is this championship. Thanks to Ooreedo for the support as well as QMMF and LCSC for making this great championship’ added Mishal Nasser Al Malki finished in third position and Ali Al Shammari in fourth place.‘It is a very competitive and strong championship with very fast riders as Saeed, Mishal and Nasser who have a lot of experience in international races. I am having tough battles with Fahad and Ali Al Qubaisi who are making similar timings than me and I feel better every round and improve my timing. Thanks to QMMF and LCSC for this championship and their support’ said Ali Al Shammari.Trophies were presented by QMMF President, Mr. Abdulrahman Al Mannai, LCSC General Manager & Vice-President Mr. Khalid Al Remaihi and QMMF General Secretary Mr. Abdulrazaq Al Kuwari.Al Naimi is leading the championship with 95 points, Al Sulaiti is second with 85 points and Al Malki third with 64 points. Ali Al Shammari is fourth with 50 points.The next round will take place during the Grand Prix of Qatar, from 23rd to 25th March.