Thailand's Thanarat Penjan won Saudi Arabia's inaugural FIM UAM Asian Supercross Championship race meeting at the Reem International Circuit in Riyadh Friday. He also clinched the 2009 UIM UAM Asian Supercross Championship title. The event was staged in the presence of Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, President of General Presidency of Youth Welfare and the President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC). The Thai rider won both races. He led from the start to the checkered flag after dominating the first race, but was forced to pass four other riders to confirm victory in race two. Runner-up in both of the Saudi races was the 40-year-old Japanese rider Tadakauzu Otsuka, who duly finished second in the general classification at the Saudi race meeting. Filipino Kenneth San Andres finished third in both the races to claim a similar position in the overall Saudi rankings. Indonesia's Ape Ddang and Mongolia's Khaliunbold Endenbileg were fifth and fourth in race one and swapped positions in race two, with Endenbileg clinching second position in the overall championship. The Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) hosted the fourth round of the championship – the first three rounds took place in the Philippines, Mongolia and Indonesia – and the race meeting marked the first time that the sport has been staged in the Middle East region. “I would like to thank all the participants for taking part in this first event of its kind in the Middle East,” said Mishaal Al-Sudairy, President of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation. “I also wish to thank Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, under whose patronage the event has run this week. I extend our thanks to Prince Bandar Bin Faisal, Chairman of Zain Reem, for sponsoring the event, to Stephan Crapiet of the FIM UAM Motocross and Enduro Commission and to all our marshals and officials for their hard work. Action at the Reem International Circuit was sponsored by Zain Communications, Bison energy drink and Castrol and the event ran under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF). __
