Doha, Qatar: The roar has returned once again to the Qatar Racing Club (QRC) drag strip with the launch of the opening round of the 2024/2025 Qatar Drag Racing Championship.

The championship consists of five rounds and is held under the generous patronage of QRC Chairman Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani. This round witnessed the participation of a large group of drag racing champions from Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain who competed across eight categories-six for cars and two for bikes.

The index categories for cars, contested over a quarter-mile distance and comprising three classes, saw fierce competition. In the INDEX 10.00 class, driver Ahmed Hassan claimed the title after defeating Ahmed Matar in the final race, while Ahmed Al-Emadi took third place.

QRC Director General Sheikh Jabor bin Khalid Al Thani crowned the podium winners in each category.

In the INDEX 9.00 class, Mohammed Al-Ansari secured the opening-round title after winning the final against Mohammed Al-Khawari, who settled for second place, while Mohammed Idris finished third. The third class, INDEX 8.50, featured a final confrontation between Mustafa Atat and Fawaz Al-Awadhi, with Atat emerging victorious to claim his first championship title, leaving Al-Awadhi in second place. Salem Al-Yemani completed the podium in third.

The car categories contested over the eighth-mile were also three in number, the strongest of which was the Super Street class. Rashid Al-Baloushi captured the title after defeating qualifying-leader Yousef Al-Zeyani, who settled for second place, while Badr Al-Sharshani took third. Following Rashid's lead, his brother Saeed Al-Baloushi won the INDEX 4.50 class by defeating Hassan Ashkanani in the final, with Basil Abbas taking third place. Al-Baloushi family continued to dominate the eighth-mile categories as Zayed Al-Baloushi and Saeed Al-Baloushi met in the final of the INDEX 4.80 class; Zayed claimed the win while Saeed finished second, and third place went to Sayed Hussein Salman.

The bike competitions saw the widest participation of the opening round, with more than fifty riders competing for the two titles. Abdullah Al-Ansari won the INDEX 8.50 motorcycle class after reaching and winning the final against Shehab Bourabaa, while Hassan Al-Mazdi finished third. Al-Ansari also reached the final of the Street Bike class, seeking a second title, but this time he settled for runner-up after losing the final race to Ahmed Karam, who claimed his first championship title. Khalid Al-Falasi took third place.

The second round will be held from Wednesday to Friday.

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