Having been the undisputed champion in the Qatar Touring Car championship (QTCC) for the last four years, it’s only natural that Abdulla al-Khelaifi is aiming to go to the next level. And the Qatari driver will be doing just that as he jets off to Europe in late April to take part in the TCR Europe Touring Car Series.
Al-Khelaifi has shown that he is unbeatable in the QTCC as he has scorched the Losail International Circuit in his Honda S2000 in the last four years. And the 29-year-old is excited about what lies ahead in the coming months.
Al-Khelaifi will be part of Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation’s six member drivers’ and riders’ team, who will travel to Europe for the training and to participate in the regional championships. He said he is happy to get the opportunity to take part in the ‘most competitive series in the world’ and feels the Europe stint will be a steep learning curve for him.
“I am looking forward to this summer’s activities,” said the soft-spoken Qatari champion. “TCR championship is the most competitive series in the world after WTCR. It’s a great opportunity for me to participate and learn from the drivers on those tracks. More than half of the tracks where this series is contested are part of the motorsport world. It will be a great learning curve for me, a steep learning curve. Hopefully I can manage to learn as I go along and long-term I can compete using that experience,” he added.
The five-round 2019 TCR Europe Touring Car Series will begin at the Hungaroring, Hungary in April and will end at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy in October. Al-Khelaifi will take part in all the rounds and will train in between the races in Europe.
“By end of April, this series will start with the first round to be held at Hungaroring, a race track in Mogyorod, Hungary. That will be great. Before that – perhaps two weeks before the race – there will be a test session for me in order to get into shape. That would also be an opportunity to meet my team and team officials ahead of the first round,” he said.
“One thing I learned from QTCC is that I never better myself unless I have some competition. If I am leading comfortably then I don’t develop at all. So this gives me great motivation. I know I won’t be competing for bigger things in TCR but I know I have higher goals so from different competitors and that will push me harder so that I become better,” he added.
Al-Khelaifi says his target is to compete at the FIA World Touring Car Cup (known as the WTCR). He has already had a taste of World Touring Car Championship, which was held in Qatar until 2017. The World Touring Car Cup is the highest class of competition for touring cars. “I started from WTCC. Basically I always want to go to the highest level of competition which is the WTCR. We had some rounds here in Qatar. My goal, eventually, is to reach WTCR. I want to represent Qatar if we have one round here,” he said.
The Qatari ace driver is keen to become the torch-bearer for young Qataris, who want to excel in motorsports. “Hopefully I can inspire the youth to follow this event and I want to spread the ‘motorsport mentality’ among the youth of the country. Eventually I will retire but we want to see new faces and new talent. I am sure we will get better drivers than me or they will do more than I would ever accomplish.
“I started rather late. The younger drivers have a better chance to learn more and faster. They develop faster. Hopefully I can inspire people with what I do,” al-Khelaifi said.
Al-Khelaifi is yet to narrow down on the car he will drive in Europe.
“Still there is some debate on the car. Most probably it will be Cobra CTR. It is a great drive. There is another possibility of ODTCR RS3. For now, it is the Cobra. I can’t believe that I am going to feature in this championship. This was not on the table until last week. So it is unbelievable. It was only talks and there was nothing certain. I am going to enjoy and push myself and get maximum points,” he said.
Abdulla al-Khelaifi drives during the Qatar Touring Car Championship at Losail International Circuit.
