Mahmoud Tannir is hoping experience will roar him on to victory in the UAE Sportbike Championship this season.
The 39-year-old finished runner-up to Abdulaziz Binladen in the 2013/14 campaign, which had ruined his chances of claiming a hat-trick of titles.
The Lebanese rider won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, before being displaced by the Saudi rider last season.
The new season revs into gear on Friday at the Dubai Autodrome and the two-time champion is desperate to wrestle back the trophy he lost to Binladen.
Dubai-based Tannir has been hard at work over the summer, training in Italy, and he is hoping the blood, sweat and tears he has shed over the off-season will be worth it.
Tannir has already shown good form this season, winning the first two rounds of the 600cc Qatar Superbike Championship.
Tannir will compete in both championships on the same Honda CBR 600RR.
“I hope to translate the hard work into results and the title is definitely the aim this year,” said Tannir.
He described Binladen as the “benchmark”, although Tannir was not far behind in second spot last season. This, despite the fact he had to contend with switching teams midway through the season.
The Lebanese has enjoyed nothing but success with his original suppliers but Tannir has decided to move to Honda.
He won his previous two titles with British bike firm Triumph, but switched to Japanese manufacturers Honda at the start of 2014 following a breakdown in relations between the two parties.
“I had some really good results but switched to Honda after three rounds so it was a new bike, although I still finished second despite the issues,” said Tannir.
“Abdulaziz has raced in British superbikes and last season was the first time we clashed, so he’s the benchmark, but I wasn’t too far away from him. I hope to do better this year with a little extra experience.”
