BIC kicks off National Race Day

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: hussainm@newsobahrain.com

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, hosted an action-packed first round of National Race Day (NRD) over the weekend, featuring three of the Kingdom’s leading local championships that were each kicking off their 2024/2025 campaigns.

Isa Mohamed claimed a sensational double in the all-new Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC), while Saud Al Toura and Ali Boushahri were both winners in their respective classes in the Bahrain Motorcycle Championship (BMC).

A number of competitors also emerged triumphant in the various Time Attack heats, including Ahmed Algaidy, Abdullah Khojah, Salman Mahmood Abdulla, Yazeed Alsaheel, Mohamed Aldoseri, Fares Almutairi, and Sultan Alsaud.

National Race Day’s curtain-raising event was organised and run by BIC, in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, the Bahrain Motorcycle Commission, the Bahrain Autocross and Drift Commission, and the Motorsport Marshals Club. All the action took place along BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track.

In the BTCC, Mohamed set the pace from the start, capturing pole position with a fastest lap time of one minute 19.112 seconds in qualifying.

He went on to win the weekend’s first 15-lap race behind the wheel of his Honda Civic contender in 21:25.040, enjoying a 6.480 seconds gap ahead of runner-up Ali Baqer, also driving a Civic and securing first place in the Juniors class.

The Radio Bahrain entry, a Honda Integra, took the final podium step in third 20.577s behind Mohamed, while Hamad Mohamed, also in a Civic, was classified fourth. In race two, Mohamed secured back-to-back victories in dominant fashion, completing the 15 laps in 21:50.315 – 10.837s ahead of Moaaz Elzahrawi, who was the runner-up in another Civic.

The Radio Bahrain entry joined them on the podium in third 13.808s behind the winner. Baqer was fourth and Hamad Mohamed fifth. In the BMC, Al Toura was the victor in the series’ 1,000cc class while Boushahri clinched first place amongst the 600cc participants.

Nawaf Alshuaibi riding a Honda CBR1000 pipped Al Toura on his BMW S 1000 RR for pole position by 0.197s in qualifying.

But Al Toura turned the tables in the 14-lap event, winning in 16:45.162 with an 11.771s gap from Alshuaibi. Hassan Alawadhi in a Yamaha R1 finished third more than a minute behind first place, while rounding out the 1,000cc classification were Bandar Bahlul on a BMW 10004R, Bradley Stewart on a Ducati 848 Evo, and Abdelrahman Hasan on an S 1000 RR.

In the 600cc category, Boushahri, riding a Honda CBR600 RR, grabbed pole with a best lap of 1:12.634 in qualifying.

He went on to win his category in 17:01.936, beating out Saif Albuainain on a Yamaha R6 by 3.524s. Achraf Hamoud on a Suzuki GSXR600 came third 19.314s adrift, while Abdulrahman Ahmed and Nasser Al Khadra, both also on R6 bikes, rounded out the race rankings.

In Time Attack, competitors battled it out to set the quickest laps in the series’ various competition categories.

Algaidy won in the SU class in his GTR AMG in a time of 1:12.869. Khojah triumphed in the MA class, which attracted a packed 14-car field, in 1:16.449 driving an Audi RS3.

Abdulla won the ULB class in a Toyota Corolla AE86 with a time of 1:25.837, while Alsaheel claimed the ULA category in his Porsche GT3RS in 1:11.407. Aldoseri secured first place in the SA class in his RS3, setting a fastest time of 1:19.247.

Almutairi triumphed in the MB category in his Subaru BRZ with a best lap of 1:22.673, and Alsaud completed the group of winners, taking the SB class win in his Toyota GR86 in 1:27.164. Seven rounds of National Race Day are scheduled to take place this 2024/2025 season, to be held all the way through to May