The Peninsula
After six rounds of excitement, enthusiasm, and engine rivalry amidst a distinctive crowd presence and strong competition among the champions of drag racing in Qatar and the Gulf region, the final round of the 2024 Arabian Drag Racing League came to a thrilling conclusion.
Sponsored by Qatar Racing Club (QRC) Chairman H E Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, the League's competitions were marked by high excitement and breath-holding moments. The competition revolved around two fronts: the first concerning the podium of the sixth round, while the second, which drew the most attention, focused on the season championship. This resulted in the highest number of participants in this round, surpassing all previous six rounds, with more than 140 racers participating across the nine categories.
The most prominent competition was seen in the Super Street Outlaw class, with a fierce competition for the season title continuing until the final race, where both Hussein Akbar and Jaber Al Maghribi competed. Akbar secured his fourth championship win, crowning him the champion of the round and the current season. Al Maghribi settled for second place for the second consecutive round.
Action during the sixth and final round of the 2024 Arabian Drag Racing League.
The 4.50 Index category witnessed a heavy surprise with the early elimination of the leaderboard topper Hassan Ashkanani and the runner-up Basel Abbas in the first round. This opened the door for third-placed Fawaz Ibrahim Ahmed Ali to claim the championship title if he reached the semi-finals. Indeed, he achieved third place in this round, while the final race was contested between Ibrahim Abbas Abdullah and Rashid Al Balushi. Eventually, the title went to the former, who secured his first podium of the current season.
Qatari driver Ahmed Al Abdullah needed to qualify for the head-to-head match-ups to clinch the current season title in the 4.80 category. He succeeded in doing so, regardless of the round’s results, ultimately securing the title.
In the 4.0 category, reaching the final race solidified Muslim Al Qallaf's place as the current season's champion, irrespective of the race’s outcome against Badr Khurshid, who managed to claim victory again.
The competition heated up for the championship title in the 8.5 Index category, eventually won by Abdulaziz Al Swaylim, who emerged victorious in the final face-off against Hussein Ashkanani.
Mohammed Jawad clinched the title in the 9.0 Index category, despite not reaching the semi-finals in this round. The podium was completed by Qatari racer Majed Al Sharshani in first place and Ali Al Zankawi in second.
Super Street Bike category saw the conclusive race between Mashari Adel Al Marri and Fahad Al Hamoud. The race resulted in favour of Al Marri, marking his first victory in the championship and leaving Al Hamoud in second place.
Based on these results, Ahmed bin Bilal was crowned the champion of the current season in this category.
Moving to the Super Street Bike category, winner of the first, fourth, and fifth rounds, Mohammed Bu Rashid, secured the third-place podium in this round, which was enough for him to clinch the champion's title. Meanwhile, the final race of this round, contested between Musfir Al Musfir and Mohammed Abdullah Al Salem, ended in favour of Al Musfir, marking his first title in the current season.
In the 8.5 Index category dedicated to motorcycles, Mohammed Al Mahrous secured both the season’s championship and the first place in this round, while Fadi Abu Jamous claimed second place.
At the end of the competitions, QRC Director Sheikh Jabor bin Khaled Al Thani honoured the media who covered the championship rounds in appreciation of their efforts.
This was followed by the presentation of commemorative shields from QRC to Basal Salem Al Subah Motorsport Racing Club and its director Saif Awadh Al Mutairi, as well as to the head of the Drag Racing Committee at the club, Khalid Al Ajil. Then, the ceremony concluded with the crowning of the top three winners in each category, culminating in the crowning of the champions of the current season.