Al Balooshi headlines drag racing winners

TDT | Manama                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com 

Bahrain1 Racing’s Khaled Al Balooshi headlined the cast of winners in the season-opening round of the 2022/2023 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship, hosted over the weekend by Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), part of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Worldwide Network, in Sakhir.

Al Balooshi steered the NHRA champions to victory in the Pro Mod category to get what promises to be yet another exciting, action-packed campaign underway.

Around 150 cars and 65 motorbikes featuring drivers from all over the Gulf and beyond took to BIC’s world-class quarter-mile strip for the meeting.

They went head-to-head in a full evening of intense eliminations in front of a large crowd of fans who packed the stands at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

Racing in the region’s leading drag series took place in 13 classes for both cars and bikes. Al Balooshi emerged at the top of the podium in the Pro Mod category after winning his final against Jaber Almaghrabi of Kuwait.

The Bahrain1 Racing ace powered to a finishing time of 4.113 seconds at a top speed of 250.85kph in his run, beating Almaghrabi’s 5.960s. Muslem Algalaf from Saudi Arabia finished in third place.

Meanwhile, four Bahrainis emerged triumphant in their respective classes. Hussain Ali won the Index 8.5, Zakariya Al Kuwari finished first in the Outlaw 4 Cylinder, Yousif Al Zayani claimed the win in the Outlaw 6 Cylinder, and Hussain Ahmed triumphed in the Pro 29.5 V8. Ali narrowly beat fellow-Bahraini Hussain Almahroos in the Index 8.5 final.

Ali had a time of 8.563s at 231.98kph while Almahroos ran for an 8.646s. Fahad Fahed of Kuwait came third.

In the Outlaw 4 Cylinder, Al Kuwari won against Ahmed Alsaai of Kuwait in the final with a mark of 8.223s at 287.53kph. Alsaai had a time of 9.237s as the runner-up, while Alhalaimi Ahmed came third.

In the Outlaw 6 Cylinder class, Al Zayani captured first place with a 4.673s winning time at 220.71kph in the final.

There, he was up against countryman Mohamed Khunaizi, who had an 8.498s mark to finish second. Ali Alkhunaizi, also of Bahrain, completed the top three.

Ahmed was the victor in the Pro 29.5 V8 after clocking a time of 4.070s at 301.88kph against Mohammed Almerbati in their all-Bahrain final elimination.

Almerbati had a time of 6.816s, while joining them on the podium was Yousef Alali from the UAE. In the other cars categories in round one, Thamr Alkhaldi from Saudi Arabia won the Index 10.0 class with a time of 10.138s at 211.72kph, Adel Alsalman from Kuwait triumphed in the Index 9.0 with marks of 8.979s at 230.26kph, Mohammed Suliman won the Index 7.5 category with a 7.513s time at 281.09kph, and Fawaz Ali of Kuwait powered to first place in the Competition 4.5 category with a time of 4.515s at 253.32kph.

Elsewhere in the motorbikes classes, Fadi Sameh from Saudi Arabia claimed a fantastic double, winning the Street Fight Bikes 9.5 class despite having a break out in the final and then clinching the Index 8.5 Bikes category with an 8.557s time at 221.98kph.

Fahad Alharbi captured first place in the Pro Street Bikes class with a 4.545s time at 258.60kph, and Jihad Aljamal from Lebanon won the Outlaw Bikes category with an 11.575s mark at 103.22kph.

Following all the action, the winners were presented their respective trophies for the round by officials from BIC, the Bahrain Motor Federation and the Bahrain Drag Racing Committee.

The 2022/2023 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship continues until February of next year. Round two is slated for 20 to 23 December, followed by round three from 3 to 6 January, 2023.

The fourth and penultimate round will be held from 31 January to 3 February, setting the stage for the season-finale from 21 to 24 February.

For more information on the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship or other events and activities at BIC, visit bahraingp. com or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000.