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Race Reports: Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship And NGK 300 At Dubai Autodromeu
Dubai Autodrome hosted the first UAE National Race Day of 2013 at Dubai Autodrome this afternoon (Friday) which included two sprint races counting towards the 2012/2013 Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship.
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In the Motorcity UAE Sporbikes Championship, Abdulaziz Binladen was in top form aboard his Saudi Falcons BMW, winning both races comfortably and setting the fastest lap of the day for the two wheel brigade on the day.
In both races he was chased hard by Alan Boyter on a Kawaski, while in the first race Damien van Blerk was third on a Ducati, with Steve Blackney taking third place in race two on his Kawasaki.
Clearly content with the day's work, Binladen said afterwards, "It was a really good day for me. The bike was great, the track is in top shape, plenty rubber down and therefore grip. The Dunlop tyres and compounds worked really well. No complaints."
The 600 Class is turning into an intriguing affair this year, with the main contenders beset by problems or mishaps as the title battle hots up.
This race day was no different. Championship leader Surya Raja had the engine on his Yamaha seize during free practice on Thursday. This forced him to source a Kawasaki for race day, which the team did a sterling job to get race ready in time for qualifying.
They managed, but Raja was not happy with the machine which he was not used to. When asked how the replacement bike felt he said, "Very different. Very bad, because it is not setup properly and I have never ridden it before in race mode. So we have a lot of work to do."
Reigning champion Mahmoud Tannir aboard the Triumph was lookng for a change of luck this weekend to bolster his title defence. But lady luck was not smiling on the Dubai based Lebanese rider as he came together with Joe Oxley on the Ducati, an incident which put them both out of the race while battling behind Rob Nicholas for top honours in the 600 Class.
This gave Nicholas some breathing space, as he took a well deserved victory on his Triumph.
Ever improving Omar Naji managed to avoid the chaos ahead of him, to finish an impressive second after managing to fend off Raja who crossed the finish line in third, with Yamaha duo Leon Chad and Erikas Savickas fourth and fifth respectively.
Kawasaki rider Colin Hindes took maximum points in the Rookie Class, ahead of fellow Kawaski rookie Neil Hawke and Giuseppe Marraffa on a Yamaha.
Oxley and Tannir quickly put their first race skirmish behind them, as they did battle a few hours later in the second 600 Class race, with Oxley taking an early lead with Tannir in his slipstream. The Triumph rider had to contend with skew handle bars, and despite this even managed to get ahead at one stage.
However Oxley, who has come close on a number of occasions, was determined to bag his first win at UAE National level. He reeled in Tannir to take the chequered flag and with it his maiden victory.
Oxley reflected, "I got a fantastic start and was running second overall. I was really pushing, riding the wheels off it. After the halfway mark, I thought I had a big enough lead and relaxed a little, but then Tannir came past me. I put my head down again and reeled him back in, we changed positions and I won. Absolutely delighted as I have come close a few times. The Ducati was fantastic, they have helped me a lot to get here. All in all, the end of a great day."
Oxley's debut win earned him the 'TAG Heuer Rider of the Day Award' for his efforts.
Tannir took second place in the 600 Class and a handy haul of points considering that Raja, his main rival for the title, failed to finish. Naji made it two podiums in two races by finishing third.
Hindes was again dominant in the Rookie Class taking the win by a comfortable margin over second placed Hawke. With Marraffa third again. Hindes said, "Two food races, two wins. I am very happy with the result."
The Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Champiosnhip remains wide open after this weekend's races, with Tannir and Raja now having to fractor new race winner Oxley into the equation.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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