Tannir Nabs Two in Al Masaood National Motorcycle Championship

Dubai, UAE, 25 January 2019: The Al Masaood National Motorcycle Championship returned to Dubai Autodrome on Friday as part of the Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Race Weekend, which also featured TCR Middle East and the 24H Middle East Championship.

Mahmoud Tannir was the king of the two-wheeled crowd, going two-for-two in the bikes races, bolstering his championship credentials in Supersport Class.

In his pursuit of Tannir, Saska Totaro dominated the Ducati Cup, while the Superstock Class was divided up by Tony Kiefer and Yuri Jongkind.

Al Masaood National Motorcycle Championship back in action. Photo: Arthur Rosales

Race Highlights

Mahmoud Tannir took care of business in qualifying, topping an 18-bike field with a best lap time of 1:07.507 on the 2.49-kilometre Club Circuit. The Lebanese rider took pole position riding a Honda CBR 600 (Supersport Class), which managed a 0.038 seconds narrow gap over the #5 Ducati 959 Corse of Italian rider Saska Totaro (Ducati Cup Class).

Totaro managed to get the jump on Tannir in the first race, passing him on the opening lap. In the second lap Tannir took the position right back and then the #10 Honda kept the contest under control.

Saska Totaro has the early pace. Photo: Anna Ratashniuk

The first and second positions remained stable for the rest of the race, but behind the frontrunners a frantic pack of bikes battled for P3. John Clark (#41 Yamaha R6, Supersport), Ivan Martinelli (#73 Yamaha R6, Superstock), Yokeshwaran (#6 Ducati 959 Corse, Ducati Cup) and Tony Kiefer (#78 Yamaha R6, Superstock) all took turns in third position.

Tony Kiefer leads the Superstock fight in Race 1. Photo: Arthur Rosales

Mahmoud Tannir crossed the finish line 5.213 seconds ahead of Saska Totaro to take the first race, followed by a pack of six bikes, with Aussie rider Tony Kiefer leading the way to claim third place overall.

Mahmoud Tannir takes control of Race 1. Photo: Anna Ratashniuk

Totaro got another great start in the second race and took command of the opening laps, but again Tannir managed to reel in the Italian rider; Mahmoud passed Saska coming up the inside of the bowl (T14) of the Club Circuit and into free air.

Behind the leaders chaos reigned supreme, with a new crop of two-wheeled machinery vying for the last spot on the podium. This time Dutch rider Yuri Jongkind powered his Yahama R6 (#7, Superstock) through the horde to settle in behind Tannir and Totaro.

Yuri Jongkind in Race 2. Photo: Aaron Meriwether

The #10 Honda, with Tannir at the helm, snatched the chequered flag with 6.503 seconds to spare over Totaro to clench his second victory of the day. Despite a hard-fought campaign, Saska Totaro had to settle for a pair of second-place finishes overall, but the Italian will be happy to take home two class wins in the Ducati Cup.

Yuri Jongkind claimed third position overall and a class win in the highly-competitive Superstock Class.

Click here for Al Masaood National Motorcycle Championship results

Report: Aaron Meriwether
Photos: Anna Ratashniuk, Arthur Rosales and Aaron Meriwether