Mahmoud Tannir Wins both races to lead the championship

Dubai Motorsport Festival Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Race 1 Report

Mahmoud Tannir was in scintillating form in the Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship race, on the opening day of the Dubai Motorsport Festival, powering to a dominant win in the 600 Class – his third of the season so far – and promptly dedicating the win to MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli who died in an accident during the Malaysian GP two weeks ago.

Tannir, who rides a Triumph Daytona, said, “My bike was going well and I felt strong throughout practice. Today it came together and I dedicate this win to Marco [Simoncelli] all of us in the motorcycle community felt pain with his tragic accident. The least I can do is to pay a small tribute to a fantastic rider whom I greatly admired.”

Tannir won the 600 Class by 13 seconds from his Vendetta Racing team mate  Alan Boyter who finished second, ahead of a tight battle for third between Joe Oxley (Kawasaki) and Steve Blackney (Honda) – the pair crossing the finish line nose to tail.

In the 1000 Class it was a two way battle between Gernot Dobida (Honda) and Nasser Al Shaiba (BMW), which was won by Dobida. Al Shaiba crashed out when he slipped off challenging for the lead in Turn 1, he was not injured in the incident.

Chris Morley (Kawasaki) continued his impressive run in the Rookie Cup, taking his fifth win out of five this season. He was followed over the line by Surya Raja (Yamaha) and Ian Wilcox (Honda) – second and third respectively in the novice class.

Race 1 Qualifying Results :

Race 1 Results:

A mere 24 hours after paying tribute to the late MotoGP star Marco Simoncelli after winning race one of the Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship, Mahmoud Tannir was back on the top step of the Dubai Autodrome podium celebrating his second 600 Class win of the Dubai Motorsport festival weekend.

Tannir, aboard his Triumph Daytona, got bogged down at the start and by the time he got back into his rhythm he was way down the field. But the Dubai based Lebanese rider put his head down and started to carve his way through the field.

With a lap to go Tannir had reeled in and overtook his team mate Alan Boyter, who was leading the class but struggling with grip late on in the race, and scored one of the best wins of his career.

Tannir, who now leads the championship standings after three rounds, said afterwards, “It was really a tough race. I had a bad start and also had a problem with my drink system which was spraying water in my helmet. But I composed myself, sorted out the problem with the water and then started to push. I am very happy to win because this was a tough race.”

Boyter was visibly disappointed and admitted, “By the end my tyres were gone. I was aware of Mahmoud closing in but there was nothing I could do. I also nearly lost it midway through the race.”

Scoring his first podium finish of the season was Erikas Savickas (Yamaha) who crossed the line third in the 600 Class.

Making it a hat trick of double wins were Gernot Dobida (Honda) who took victory in both 1000 Class races and Chris Morley (Kawaski) who made it six out of six in the Rookie Cup. Morley said, “It was a perfect weekend. My bike was great, the tyres worked well. Conditions were tough, but then they always are.”

Surya Raja (Yamaha) was third in the Rookie class with Ian Wilcox (Honda) third.

Race 2 Results:

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