Bahrain Drag Racing kicks off

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The 2024/2025 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship kicked off in grand fashion last week at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

More than 200 drag racers and their crews from around the world lit up the quarter-mile drag strip at ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’ across four days of high-adrenaline excitement.

Bahrain1 Racing, owned by His Majesty the King’s Personal Representative and Supreme Council for Environment Chairman His Highness Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, headlined the list of winners in the 13 categories for cars and motorbikes.

Bahrain1’s Khaled Al Balooshi triumphed in the highly competitive Pro Mod category, getting the new campaign off to a hot start for the recently crowned National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Mod champions.

Also taking wins in the cars classes were Hasan Ashkanani, Yousif Alali, Ali Rabeea, Ali Alkhenaizi, Abdulfattah Atwan, Sayed Hussain Salman, Khalid Abdulkarim, and Fahad Alkhawari.

From the bikes categories, Fadi Abujampus, Fahed Alharbi, Mohammed Alawwad, and Nasser Borabaa emerged triumphant.

First of five rounds

The meeting was the first of five rounds in the region’s leading drag racing series, which is organised and run by BIC, in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, Motorsport Marshals Club, and Bahrain Drag Racing Commission.

In Pro Mod action, Khaled Al Balooshi won for Bahrain1 Racing with a pass of 3.722 seconds at 320.04kph in the final elimination. He beat Khalil Alansari, who had a red light in the headto-head. Rashid Al Balooshi came third.

Hasan Ashkanani was the victor in the Competition 4.5 class. He had an elapsed time of 4.519s at 227.91kph, and with a better reaction time, beat Ali Alqattan, whose 4 . 5 1 6 s 244.51kph put him in second place. Mohammed Faras was ranked third.

The Pro 29.5 V8 category saw Yousif Alali in the final run in 3.870s at 319.89kph, defeating Majed Alharbi, who had a time of 4.996s at 182.29kph. Abdulwahab Saleem took third place.

Ali Rabeea was the top man amongst the Index 10.0 drag racers, clocking a mark of 9.945s at 207.28kph in the final. Ahmed Hasan had a red light, while Raeed Haidar clinched third place.

In the Outlaw Six-Cylinder class, Ali Alkhenaizi won in 9.350s at 100.59kph in the deciding elimination. Ali Adel had a stage foul, and Jassim Zaman emerged in third.

Narrow win

The Outlaw Four-Cylinder battles saw Abdulfattah Atwan take first place with a mark of 9.179s at 258.97kph, narrowly beating Mahmood Mohammed, who took second in 9.355s at 251.53kph. Ahmed Alhalaimi joined them on the podium.

In the 7.5 Index category, Sayed Hussain Salman won in 7.632s at 284.54kph. Nawaf Alkalidi had to settle for second in 7.843s at 241.22kph, while Hussain Taqi came third. Khalid Abdulkarim won the 8.5 Index class in 8.723s at 238.67kph. Yousif Alfaraj had a break out as the runner-up whereas Ali Alkhamiri clinched third place.

Fahad Alkhawari completed the victors from the cars classes by taking the 9.0 Index in 9.010s 225.12kph. Khalid Aldosery was second in 9.028s at 218.07kph in the final pass, while Rumaih Alrumaih third.

Motorbikes

Amongst the motorbikes competitors , Fadi Abuja moustri - umphed in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5 class with a mark of 11.144s at 210.21kph. He beat Ali Hejair, who had a red light on their final pass, while Hussain Isa came third.

Fahed Alharbi won the Pro Street Bikes in 7.386s at 217.10kph, with Mishari Alturki taking second following a stage foul. Ahmad Almohawes finished third.

In the Outlaw Bikes class, Mohammed Alawwad won in 4.029s at 282.70kph, beating Nawaf Aldossary’s 6.680s at 183.67kph. Mishari Alturki was with them on the podium.

In the 8.5 Index Bikes category, Nasser Borabaa triumphed in 8.522s at 252.29kph. Hussain Ashkanani had a break out to settle for second, while Ali Bahram was third.

The 2024/2025 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship resumes next month with the second round, to be held from 10 to 13 December at BIC. Round three will then take place next year from 21 to 24 January, and then the season’s fourth and penultimate meeting is scheduled for 11 to 14 February.

That will set the stage for the grand finale the very next weekend from 18 to 21 February.