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Report: Round 9 & 10 Of The Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship At Dubai Autodrome
Going into Round 9 and 10 of the Motorcity UAE Sportbikes Championship it was Surya Raja who topped the championship points table by 14 points from Mahmoud Tannir and by the end of the afternoon the gap remained the same as both scored a win and second place each, during the Total UAE National Race Day at Dubai Autodrome.
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Yamaha mounted Raja signaled his intent early on by claiming pole position in qualifying for the 600 Class. But in race one he was sluggish off the line allowing Tannir, on the Duseja Moto Triumph, to take an early lead. The two were the pick of the bunch with Tannir taking the chequered flag by a mere 0.599 seconds, withRaja tucked into his slipstream.
Erikas Savickas was third on his Yamaha, after fending off the attentions of Joe Oxley (Ducati) and Rob Nicholas (Triumph).
Race two was again about the pace setting duo battling it out at the front, but this time it was Raja who took top spot on the podium and Tannir having to settle for second.
Behind them it was again Savickas who took third place, with Nicholas fourth and Omar Naji (Kawasaki) in fifth.
Chris Doyle (Triumph) has emerged as the new 'hot property' in the Rookie Cup and did his reputation no harm with two impressive class wins on the day. He was followed home by Michael Collins (Yamaha) in both races.
Tannir said of his day in the saddle, "Surya had a real good pace today. I did a small change to the setup from race one to race two, unfortunately it worked negatively. But still we had a very good day, first and second is still good and I believe we are very much in contention. It will make for a very interesting end of the season."
Raja reflected on his two races, "It feels fantastic to be back on the top step of the podium. Unfortunately we have had two very bad rounds before this, with a new bike and setting it up. But now the bike is finally working better for me."
When asked about the championship Raja said, "It's very, very close and the way it should be. We all have to push, and with all the riders constantly improving it is good news for the sport. And of course the championship is wide open."
When asked about his game plan with four rounds to go, the Dubai based Indian rider smiled and said," Win, win, win and win!"
Four rounds on two race days remain for in the 2012-2013 UAE Sportbikes Championship, with the next round at Dubai Autodrome on 29 March and the season finale on 19 April.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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