2009 FIM UAM ASIAN SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Reem, Saudi Arabia – December 3-4, round 4
SAUDI ARABIAN MOTOR FEDERATION HOSTS FOURTH
ROUND OF FIM UAM ASIAN SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Riders from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE in Supercross action
UAE’s Al-Balooshi wins Middle East races at Reem on Thursday
Thailand’s Penjan fastest in qualifying for Friday’s FIM UAM Supercross race
RIYADH (Saudi Arabia), Thursday, December 3: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia played host to its first ever FIM UAM Asian Supercross Championship action at the Reem International Circuit in Riyadh on Thursday. It marked the first meeting of its kind ever to be held in the Middle East region.
Saudi Arabia’s first ever round of the expanding series was re-scheduled from its original November date to avoid a date clash with the annual Hajj pilgrimage, but has attracted competitors from as far afield as Mongolia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, China, Japan and Thailand.
The first three rounds of the championship took place in the Philippines, Mongolia and Indonesia. Visiting riders include last year’s Mongolian champion Khaliunbold Erdenbileg and his arch Filipino rival Kenneth San Andres, both riding Kawasakis.
The GCC is well represented with the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) supporting Mishal Al-Khaldi, Ahmad Al-Shaawi. Naji Al-Mutairy, Sultan Bagdadi, Saleh Al-Abdulali and Abdulaziz Al-Hathlool against strong competition from the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The UAE has fielded entries for Ali Kubaisi, Ahmed Mubarak and Mohammed Al-Balooshi, KIAC-backed Kuwaiti entries are Abdullah Al-Shatti, Faisal Bin Awadh and Mua’ath Al-Ansari, while Isa Karimi, Yousef Al-Koohaji, Jonathan Mark and Ali Gol Mohammed have been entered by the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF).
UAE’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi in winning form
The GCC riders took part in their own pair of races on Thursday afternoon and had the opportunity to qualify for the main FIM UAM Asian Supercross Championship race, which is scheduled for Friday. The UAE’s Al-Balooshi opened up a 30.609s lead to win the first 13-lap race with a time of 23m 03.831s on his Yamaha. The UAE’s Ali Kubaisi was second, Kuwait’s Al-Ansari claimed third and Faisal Bin Awadh was fourth. Mishal Al-Kaldi ran as the leading Saudi rider in seventh overall.
Al-Balooshi also won the second of the Middle East races, with Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti in second position and Faisal Bin Awadh completing the top three. With the two results combined for a podium ceremony and the distribution of prize money, Al-Balooshi was deemed the winner. The UAE’s Ali Kubaisi was handed second overall and Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti was third.
International riders took part in their own qualifying session on Thursday and Thailand’s Thanarat Penjan was the fastest of the eight entrants on his Yamaha with a time of 12m 28.991s for his eight laps of the circuit. He set a fastest lap of 1m 18.052s, which was sufficient to pip second-placed San Andres and Erdenbileg, who finished third.
“This is just the start of what we hope will become a major new sport in the Middle East region,” said Mishaal Al-Sudairy, President of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation. “Today has been a fantastic opportunity to evaluate our Arab riders and see whether they are proficient enough to graduate to the Asian Championship and represent their relevant federations in the main race on Friday. We are grateful to Stephan Carapiet of the FIM UAM Motocross and Enduro Commission for his support and to the Zain Reem circuit for sponsoring the event.”
Action is taking place on a permanent purpose-built Supercross course at the Reem International Circuit in Riyadh. The track was designed by the Asian MX Championship’s contractual partner Xtreme Worx in April and featured a 950-metre outdoor SX-type course with an 80-metre starting line, table tops, a roller coaster and a set of three double jumps.
“The course is now a permanent fixture at the Reem International Circuit and is just one of several motor sporting disciplines we want to put under one roof here at Reem. We will expand this still further in the future and hope to arrange a Middle East Supercross Championship in due course.”
“We applaud the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation for leading the way in hosting a round of the FIM Asian Supercross Championships and hope that this opens the door to other Middle East nations to the most exciting world of motocross,” said Stephan Carapiet, President of the FIM UAM Motocross and Enduro Commission.
Action at the Reem International Circuit is sponsored by Zain Communications, Bison energy drink and Castrol and runs under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF). There will be two Asian Championship races on Friday, with the opening encounter starting at 14.10hrs (Riyadh time) and race two roaring into life at 16.00hrs.
– Ends –
For further media information:
Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, PO Box 87881, Riyadh 11652, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tel: + 9661 477 1035, Fax: + 9661 477 1050, www.samf.gov.sa
Arabic: Firas Nimri, Mobile: + 9662 777 282000, E-mail: nimrifiras@yahoo.com.
English: Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobiles: + 44 7831 123153 or + 971 50 3616881, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com.
www.asiamx.org