Qatar’s Saeed readies for life in the fast lane

QATAR’S Saeed Al Sulaiti, who scored his first points at the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) with his 15th-place finish in the ninth round in USA recently, hopes to make good use of the summer break.

The Team Pedercini Racing rider, in his rookie season in WSBK, is getting used to the pace of his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Saeed currently has ex-Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation Racing Team’s Moto2 rider Anthony West as team-mate.

“I’m happy with the improvements I’ve made so far in the season and scoring points on my debut in the championship adds to my joy. I want to thank my team (Pedercini) for giving me this great opportunity. A big thanks to the QMMF and its president Abdulrahman Al Mannai for the way they’ve helped me. I hope to further improve after the summer break,” said Saeed, only the third Qatari, after Talal Al Naimi and Mishal Al Naimi, to compete in WSBK’s premier class.

The WSBK season resumes after the summer break on September 18 at the Lausitzring track in Germany and concludes under lights at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit on October 30.

Team owner and former rider Lucio Pedercini was all praise for Saeed.

“He’s such a nice guy. We knew that he didn’t know any of the tracks in WSBK. It isn’t easy when you’ve only an hour or two on Friday and then the race immediately on Saturday, but he’s learning quickly and I hope we can continue with him.”