Karting thrills in backto-back Rotax rounds
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Ali Almoayed claimed fine back-to-back victories while eight other drivers shared the spoils in their respective classes in the second and third rounds of the 2022/2023 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge, held over an action-packed weekend at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir.
A field of 42 drivers battled it out in five different categories along the 1.414-kilometre track on Friday and Saturday at BIKC, the world-class grassroots motorsport facility at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.
Young Ali Almoayed won the Micro MAX final in both the weekend’s meetings to finish as the star driver.
Meanwhile, taking the victories in the other classes were Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa and Nasser Nass in the Mini MAX; Luca Houghton and Gracie Grantham in the Junior MAX; Muhammad Wally and Leen Alarifi in the Senior MAX; and Abdulla Jaweed and Omar Aldeerayan in the DD2 category.
Round two
In round two, Almoayyed was the frontrunner in the Micro MAX qualifying and pre-final and maintained his fine form to win the nine-lap final in a time of nine minutes 22.558 seconds.
He finished 5.486 seconds ahead of runner-up Adam Awan and was 13.189s from Mohammed Waleed.
In the Mini MAX class, Shaikh Ahmed was number one from start to finish, being classified first in both qualifying and the pre-final.
Then, in the nine-lap final, Shaikh Ahmed took the win in 8:54.645, narrowly beating Nasser Nass who was 0.941s back, while Shonal Kunimal came third 5.177s behind.
The Junior MAX saw Gracie Grantham set the pace in qualifying and then win the pre-final ahead of Luca Houghton.
In the final, however, Houghton was able to overtake his chief rival on lap two and did well to defend his position from there.
Houghton took the chequered flag after 15 laps in 13:43.134, while Gracie was a mere 0.283s adrift as the runner-up. Vedant Menon came third 5.739s back to complete the Junior MAX podium.
In the Senior MAX class, Muhammad Wally and Lewis Smith took turns atop the timesheet in qualifying and the pre-final.
In an eventful final, the pair were once again at the front by the end, with Wally taking first place in 14:37.518 after 15 laps, and Smith following 2.253s behind.
Najashi Rashdan was third 2.448s from the winner.
Omar Alderayan was the leader in the DD2 class for qualifying and the pre-final, but then Abdulla Jaweed managed to forge ahead for the win in the 15-lap final with a time of 13:43.784— 2.949s ahead of Alderayan. Ahmed Alsaleh completed the podium 24.048s adrift.
Round three
Following a thrilling second round of racing, the level of excitement went up a notch for round three the following afternoon at BIKC.
Ali Almoayed continued from where he left off the day before— atop his class in all three sessions including qualifying, the pre-final and final. Almoayed won the final in 9:21.003.
In the Mini MAX category, Shaikh Ahmed was the frontrunner in both qualifying and the pre-final, until the final on the seventh of nine laps.
Nasser Nass made his move to the front and held on until the end, winning in a time of 8:52.863— 0.673s ahead of Shonal Kunimal and 0.793s from Isa Almoayed, who came third.
The fight for first place in the Junior MAX class continued to intensify throughout the weekend.
Mohammed Alhasan narrowly pipped Gracie Grantham for first place in qualifying, and then Houghton finished ahead of Gracie in the pre-final.
But in the final, it was Gracie’s time to shine and she outclassed the boys to win in 13:36.126 after 15 laps.
It was a tight finish as Gracie had just a 0.118s gap from Alhasan, while Vedant Menon came third 6.649s adrift.
The Senior MAX category was also tightly contested, with Fahad Alkhaled taking both qualifying and the pre-final.
An incident-filled, 15-lap final then ensued, and Leen Alarifi was able to emerge victorious when the dust settled, taking first place in 13:44.425.
Alkhaled had to settle for the runner-up spot 0.538s behind, while Oliver Kruglov completed the Senior MAX podium-placers 2.202s from Alarifi.
In the DD2 category, it was Omar Alderayan all the way, setting the pace in qualifying and winning the pre-final, before outduelling Jaweed in the 15-lap final.
Alderayan won in 13:33.820, while Jaweed was 0.416s off the pace. At the end of both rounds, the winners were awarded their trophies in podium ceremonies.
The BRMC field returns to action for rounds four and five on 13 and 14 January as the first races of 2023 at BIKC.
The track temperatures will continue to heat up when rounds six and seven roll into the desert on 10 and 11 February.
That will set the stage for the season-finale on 17 March to mark the end of yet another spectacular national karting campaign.
The BRMC is being organised by BIKC in cooperation with Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), the Bahrain Motor Federation and the Motorsport Marshals Club.
For more information, contact BIKC on +973-17451745 or visit bahraingp.com or the social media channels of BIKC and BIC.
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