Tannir and Raja square up in Superbike thriller

Dubai: Defending champion Mahmoud Tannir and last year’s Rookie Cup winner Surya Raja go head-to-head in the 14th and final round of UAE Sportbike Championship at Dubai Autodrome this weekend.

While Raja started the season well with a hat-trick of wins, Tannir came back with his first win in round four followed by a triple later on. This gives Tannir a 14-point lead over Raja, with a maximum of 50 points available on the day.

Tannir said: “I am going to take each race as it comes. Forget about the championship and ride to my best of my ability. From there we will see what happens.”

Raja added: “It is a blow that we have lost the championship lead. We have a mountain to climb on the last race day, but we are up for the task and, as they say, anything can happen in racing.”

The Rookie Cup will also be decided on Friday, and although Dominik von Poelnitz has a 20-point lead over Colin Hindes, it is the latter who has the momentum on his side having taken maximum points in the last two races.

One of the two is likely to take the coveted title, although Neil Hawke, 31 points adrift, has an outside chance of causing a major upset on the day.