The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) is set to resume its’ 2020 season in October, after the events were brought to a sudden halt in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
Amro al-Hamad, QMMF’s Executive Director, said the motorsport body was in touch with FIA (international automobile federation) and FIM (international motorcycling federation) and will follow the medical protocols put in place by both the world federations and by the Qatar government before zeroing in on the resumption dates. 
“Once we get the go-ahead from the FIA, the FIM and the Qatar government, we shall resume our events,” al-Hamad said. “We hope to resume the season with the 2020 Qatar National Sprint Championship, a series that is very popular in Qatar. The dates of the 2020 Qatar National Sprint will be announced in the coming weeks. We wanted to complete the season before March but when the Covid-19 restrictions were applied by the government of Qatar, we quickly halted our events,” he added.
The QMMF Executive Director hoped the popular Qatar National Sprint championship will once again attract a record number of participants.
“The Qatar National Sprint had a record participation of 64 entries in the last round we staged. We saw 56 entries in the second round and we are aiming for a new participation record in 2020 when we resume action,” al-Hamad said. 
“We are also looking at hosting last two rounds of the 2020 Qatar National Baja. Three rounds have already been staged. The aim of QMMF is to seal these two national events despite the delays and postponements because of the Covid-19 restrictions,” al-Hamad said.
The Redbull Drifting series is expected to run as part of the QMMF calendar, while the Batabit events will also merge into the calendar of events, al-Hamad revealed. More details of the two series will be made available once negotiations with sponsors are complete, he added.
With track events on hold, QMMF has been at forefront in conducting online events. So far four editions of the Qatar Online Racing Championships (QORC) were conducted in April, May and June, with regional racers from Oman and Kuwait also participating. While QMMF riders also took on Moto2 riders from Leopard Racing in the virtual championship, which they came out as winners.  
“We are confident that motorsport activities will resume with fanfare,” al-Hamad said. “As a motorsport enthusiast, I don’t want to just end the season because of the Covid-19 situation. So many federations around the world stopped sports action. I want to complete the remaining part of the season, seal the season with strict medical protocols announced for everyone’s safety. I want to get a champion for Qatar National Sprint Championship and the Qatar National Baja this season,” he added.
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