CSMEC: Al Musalam retains title in thrilling finale

Fahad Al Musalam clinched his second consecutive Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Championship in the season finale in Riyadh at the weekend.

Al Musalam’s winning margin, which had looked more than healthy at mid-season, was just four points after Australian driver, Tarek Elgammal, came close to snatching the title out of the Bahraini’s grasp.

Elgammal needed a perfect weekend to overhaul his main rival, and began in strong style with victory in race 1.

After passing pole sitter Raed Raffii off the line, Elgammal wasn’t headed again as he crossed the line clear off Raffii and Al Musalam, who had muscled past both Abdulaziz Al Yaeesh and Mohammed Al Owais at the start.

Al Musalam’s podium meant that just a finish in race 2 would be good enough to seal the crown, but he refused to play it safe in what was a thrilling race.

Raffii again started on the front row with Elgammal and this time beat the Australian off the grid.

Al Musalam was immediately involved in a fierce tussle with Elgammal for second place and sneaked past on lap 4 after the pair had swapped paint on several occasions. With the title in sight, Al Musalam still refused to settle for anything other than victory as he quickly caught Raffii, but he was spared making a passing move when Raffii slowed and retired with a mechanical problem.

“I am extremely pleased with my performance this season and it is fantastic to have yet another championship title,” Al Musalam said.

“My plan for the round was to take advantage of the new tyres which gave me a bit of extra speed. It was a thrilling race which has brought to close a really competitive season.”

Elgammal came home in second to ensure he claimed the same position in the final standings after Al Yaeesf, who had an outside shot at the title heading into the round, had a quiet weekend at his home race.

Final Championship Standings

1 Fahad Al Musalam – 90pts
2 Tarek Elgammal – 86
3 Abdulaziz Al Yaeesf – 70
4 Raed Raffii – 63
5 Hamad Al Khalifa – 63
6 Mohammed Al Owais – 47
7 Raed Charawi - 22
8 Salman Al Khalifa – 20
9 Khalid Al Faisal – 18
10 Mohammed Alfalasi – 18

Watch highlights of the final round of the Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Championship from Riyadh on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) on Monday 19 April at 7.05pm (GMT).


Andy Wilkinson

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