Mullan and Binladen crowned champions on final day

Sport360 staff 22:04 11/04/2014
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  • Final day drama: This year's championships went right to the wire.

    UAE national championships were decided on the final day of the 2013/2014 season at Dubai Autodrome as Saudi Ace Abdulaziz Binladen was crowned UAE sport bike champion after powering to victory in both races on the day aboard his Liberty Kawasaki, today.

    Mahmoud Tannir relinquished his crown after a feisty battle in race one, challenging Binladen for the lead but to no avail after he slipped off and with that the championship was no longer his.

    Tannir did, however, manage to bounce back to finish third in race two.

    Gernot Dobida finished second in the first race while Erikas Savickas was runner-up in the second, with newly crowned Rookie Cup champion Michael Collins doing the business in both races on the day.

    Binladen said afterwards: “It feels really good to be UAE champion. I’d like to thank Liberty Kawasaki for their support and my team for consistently to have a good bike to ride."

    In the NGK Racing Series Gulf Petrochem team-mates Coastas Papantonis and Alexandros Annivas had wrapped up the Class 1 and Clio Cup titles before the final day.

    The real focus was on the big Class 2 title deciding battle where Honda pair Jonathan Mullan, Rupesh Channake and Renault driver Annivas topped the points standings going into the final two races with double points up for grabs.

    It was a tense two races but when the chequered flag dropped at the end of the day Mullan's two victories were enough to crown him Class 2 champion, with Annivas upswetting the odds to take second place in the championship and Channake third.

    On the day Dragon Racing Ferrari driver Leon Price was overall winner in race one, with Papantonis winning race two in his SEAT as Shannon Ward finished runner-up in both races.

    At the end of the day, and the season for that matter, Dubai Autodrome general manager Richard Birch said in assessment: "It was a tough season, granted the fields dwindled but the quality remained with proof being the two titles only decided on the very last day. 

    "Two the champions a hearty congratulations, all of them deserving of the accolades for their hard work and commitment. I would also like to send a big thank you to all the marshals, officials and of course our Dubai Autodrome team for their contribution, and who make it all possible," concluded Birch.

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