National Race Day set for exciting first round at BIC

Manama : A brand new season of local racing blasts off today at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, in Sakhir.

Two of the island’s most popular motor racing championships will be taking to the tarmac as a part of BIC’s National Race Day. They include the BIC 2,000cc Challenge, one of the longest-running circuit racing series in the entire region, and the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600, a leading one-make championship featuring Honda Hornet 600cc bikes.

Friday’s opening round of the new campaign promises plenty of thrills and spills under BIC’s state-of-the-art floodlighting system.

Action is scheduled to be held from 5pm until after 10pm. All are welcome to attend and enjoy some of the best racing local talent has to offer. Tickets are available at the gate.

BMR Practice gets things underway, to be followed by Qualifying at 6.15pm. Race One is then scheduled to begin at 7.47pm followed by Race Two at 9.07pm. The 2,000cc Challenge participants kick off their season with Practice at 5.35pm followed by Qualifying at 6.40pm. Race One then flags off at 8.28pm followed by Race Two at 9.48Pm. The evening’s events will culminate with a Podium Ceremony to honour all the round’s winners.

Heading into the new championship, several top talents will be looking to make a quick impact in the first around.

In the 2,000cc Challenge, Tim Birkin is back to defend his crown in his white Honda Integra. Record-setting Martyna Al Qassab is also returning as she will be hoping to continue to impress, while mainstays such as Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Raed Himmo will all be aiming to mount a serious push to claim the 2,000cc crown.

In the BMR 600, there is also a large contingent of top talent who will be hoping to get some good results from the opening round. Among them are Adel Najjar, Mohammad Al Zaidan, Pawel Rosciszewski, Shaikh Mohammed Al Khalifa, and many others.