Qatar’s Al Sulaiti upbeat for home race

Doha:  Pedercini Racing rider Saeed Al Sulaiti of Qatar revealed there will be pressure to impress the home fans during the final round of the World SuperBike Championship at Losail International Circuit but the excitement to race at home surpasses  everything.
“It’s going to be one of the most important weekends of my career as I’ll get to race in WorldSBK at my home circuit in front of my friends and family,” said Al Sulaiti in an interview with worldsbk.com site.
 “There is extra pressure but also extra motivation and I know the circuit.” Al Sulaiti is keen to impress the home fans in the final round as the WorldSBK heads to Qatar for the final clash of season 2016.
It will be the first time that the Qatari will race at Losail in the WorldSBK category as he has previously only tackled the 5.4km circuit in the Superstock 1000 class.
Al Sulaiti made history this year by becoming the first ever full-time Qatari rider to grace the World Superbike starting grid. And he has also cemented his name into the record books by becoming the first ever representative from his country to score World Championship points.
Prior to Al Sulaiti, only two other Qatari riders have gone before him in WorldSBK: Talil Al Naimi (four races) and Mashel Al Naimi (two races), entering as wildcards at their home Losail International Circuit between 2005 and 2007. However, Al Sulaiti is the first ever full-time entrant, having signed a deal for 2016 with Lucio Pedercini’s well-respected team, thus becoming team-mate to Sylvain Barrier.
 “My goal is to get as much experience as I can,” he had said earlier.
“It’s my first year and most of the calendar is new for me; I only knew the two Spanish circuits (MotorLand Aragon and Jerez, from his time in the FIM CEV) and of course my home track in Doha. It’s going to be interesting to try and get some points.”
 “It would be very nice to get some points at the beginning of the season, so I will do my best,” Al Sulaiti had said earlier.
For the third year in a row, the state-of-the-art Losail International Circuit will host the final Round of the Superbike World Championship from October 28 to 30.  
The event always draws spectators come from near and far to watch blockbuster WorldSBK action, under floodlights during the night at the desert track.
Excitement for this year’s GaerneQatar Round is building even higher, as the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will be decided this weekend at Losail.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) leads the standings 48 points ahead of his teammate Tom Sykes, who fights for both the Championship crown and second place depending on the results of Race 1 on Saturday. If Rea takes the title, fans will see a high-octane duel break out between Sykes and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for the overall runner-up position.
Tickets are still available for the Gaerne Qatar Round, which promises a weekend of unforgettable action.
As part of the WorldSBK event program, all the fans will enjoy getting closer to the riders and teams in the Paddock Show activities that are scheduled during the weekend.
On Friday, the Paddock Show runs from 22:30 to 23:00 with the WorldSSP top 3 riders and the WorldSBK top 3 riders together with the local hero Al Sulaiti on the Opening Day show.
On Sunday, the fans can meet the riders in the WorldSBK Meet ‘n’ Greet at 18:45 with competitions and chat shows. On the giant screen located at the Paddock Show, the races, free practices and Superpole sessions will be shown live with commentary.