Dubai, UAE, 19 November 2018: The new national series for bikes opened its account at Dubai Autodrome on Saturday (17 November) which attracted 16 riders to the debut grid.
A brand-new championship has emerged on the local motorsport scene but many of the faces, top riders from past series, are very familiar, including Mahmoud Tannir, Ahmed Al Muyini, Nasser Al Shaiba, Brendan Zaaiman and Lara Pepler.
The Al Masaood National Motorcycle Championship (AMNMC) features three championships within each race: Supersport, Superstock, and the Ducati Cup.
Last season’s 600cc UAE Sportbike champion, Mahmoud Tannir, wasted no time getting down to business in the new series. The Supersport rider knocked out a best lap time of 1:32.941 in qualifying, which was almost a second and a half better than Ahmed Al Muyini.
Saska Totaro nabbed the top qualifying time for Ducati Cup riders, edging out Nasser Al Shaiba by just over half a second. Tony Kiefer led the Superstock class with a best lap time of 1:37.155, which was .777 seconds clear of Brendan Zaaiman.
Tannir led from pole in race one, followed by Saska Totaro, who got the jump on Al Muyini. Tannir appeared to have everything under control, but Al Muyini snuck past Totaro and then challenged for the lead. It was a tight contest down to the line with Al Muyini taking the chequered flag by just 0.127 seconds ahead of Tannir.
Mahmoud took his revenge in race two, getting right on the back of Al Muyini early on, nailing the pass and then cruising home for victory with over four seconds of cushion.
Saska Totaro was unstoppable in the Ducati Cup, seizing two class wins over Nasser Al Shaiba. Likewise, Brendan Zaaiman was king of Superstock, taking home a pair of class victories over Christopher Dempsey and Tony Kiefer.
Report: Aaron Meriwether
Photos: Arthur Rosales & Aaron Meriwether
