(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar's Ahmed El Kholy won his second Qatar Racing Online Championship (QORC) title, this time with a rally car after an exciting tussle with Ammar Bulushi of Oman in the final race yesterday. It came down to the final corner in the seven-stage simulated Rally of Finland, as El Kholy beat Bulushi by a mere 0.830-second margin to clinch the WRC8 championship.
El Kholy, who had won the inaugural QORC car title, was second best to Bulushi in the first two stages as the Omani set a scorching pace. But El Kholy bounced back to win the third stage, with Bulushi losing precious time as he was 10-second behind his rival. While Bulushi did win the fourth and sixth stage, El Kholy's consistency proved vital in the end.
The third place battle was as exciting with Mishari al-Thefiri of Kuwait edging out Qatar's Mansour Dbeissy for the final podium place by the narrowest margin of 0.005 seconds.
El Kholy was thrilled with his triumph and said he didn't expect to win the championship as he had less experienced in rally racing compared to circuit racing. 'I can't even describe my feeling. I put my best in the competition but never thought I was going to win it. I knew this was not my type of racing at all because I like circuit racing, he said.
'Rally was a new racing for me because I have no experience of it. But I knew I had pace and did well in the qualifying and got better with each race. It was difficult last two weeks for me. I was practising day and night. It was a world class competition, the competitors have set an amazing time and you will see them in top 10 in the world. I tried to learn from my mistakes and not take too many risks. Today's strategy was not to commit any mistakes and just keep the car on the road. I want to thank Amor Al Hamad (QMMF's Executive Director) and QMMF, it's a great effort from them to organise such an event, added El Kholy, who took home QR15,000 in prize money.
For Bulushi it was a bitter sweet campaign after impressing in the qualifying stages. 'It was an exciting race. I did my best and my stage times were very good. But Ahmed was better and consistent, and today was not my day. I want to thank QMMF for organising the support. It was a grueling two weeks, the Omani said.
Bulushi received QR13,000 for runner-up finish, while third-placed al-Thefiri took home QR10,000. The online competition, conducted by the QMMF has gained in popularity after it was held for cars and bikes in the last two months. In total 28 competitors have registered for the championship.
Final results
1. Ahmed El Kholy Total time: 33:17.944; 2. Ammar Bulushi (Oman) +0.830; 3. Mishari al-Thefiri (Kuwait) +41.604; 4. Mansour Dbeissy +41.609; 5. Khalid al-Maraghi +59.677; 6. Adel Abdulla +29.237; 7. Zakariya Al Ofi (Oman) +33.939
MENAFN2206202000670000ID1100369915
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.