Rotax karting battles hot up at BIKC

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Nasser Nass, Adam Awan and Omar Alderayan all claimed back-to-back victories in the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2022/2023 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC), held at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir, the world-class grassroots motorsport facility at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

Nasser won both Finals in the Mini MAX category, while Adam triumphed in both Micro MAX Finals.

Alderayan followed suit by taking both Final sprints in the DD2 MAX class.

Also emerging triumphant over the weekend were Gracie Grantham and Mohammed Alhasan, who shared the spoils in the Junior MAX class; as well as Muhammad Wally and Fahad Alkhaled, who both emerged victorious amongst the Senior MAX competitors.

The racing in the penultimate weekend of the current BRMC campaign was held along BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track.

The BRMC is organised by BIKC and BIC, in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) and Bahrain Karting Commission (BKC).

In round six, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa topped the Mini MAX Qualifying timesheet to claim pole for their Pre-Final, but Nasser was then able to claim first place in that race, 2.007 seconds ahead of Shaikh Ahmed.

In the Final, Nasser and Shaikh Ahmed were once again engaged in a tight battle, with Nasser defending his position at the front all throughout the nine laps to win in eight minutes 53.065s.

Shaikh Ahmed settled for the runner-up spot 0.578s back, while Vic Van Campenhout came third 5.312s adrift.

In the Micro MAX class, Ali Almoayed set the Qualifying pace but Adam raced to the win in the Pre-Final.

Adam then rode his momentum into the Final, winning over nine laps in 9:25.074 with a 2.917s gap ahead of Ali.

Tariq Soofi was third 3.495s back. Gracie was in top form in the Junior MAX category, taking first place in both Qualifying and the Pre-Final.

She then wrapped up a perfect round by inheriting the win in the 15-lap Final with a time of 13:36.165.

Gracie had originally crossed the finish line in second place with Alhasan in first, but Alhasan was given a 10-second penalty, dropping him to fifth on the order.

Luca Houghton was the eventual runner-up 5.037s from Gracie, and Jaber Alsabah came third 13.521s off the winner’s mark.

Fine showing Wally also enjoyed a fine showing in the Senior MAX class, topping Qualifying and then winning the Pre-Final.

Then, in the 15-lap Final, Wally put in a masterful performance, taking a pole-to-flag victory in 13:34.420.

Leen Alarifi was in second 4.883s adrift, while Alkhaled completed the podium 5.627s from first.

In the DD2 MAX category, it was a two-horse race between Alderayan and Abdulla Jaweed, who out-duelled his rival in Qualifying.

But in the Pre-Final, Alderayan took first place by 0.410s, and repeated his success in the Final, this time beating Jaweed by 5.683s over 15 laps.

The sixth round of the BRMC was followed by another action-packed event the following day at BIKC in round seven.

Shaikh Ahmed and Nasser were once again battling for top honours amongst the Mini MAX runners, and Shaikh Ahmed got the better finish in Qualifying.

In the Pre-Final, however, Nasser won ahead of Rashid Hilal, before claiming the Final ahead of Shaikh Ahmed in 8:56.454.

Shonal Kunimal completed the podium finishers.

In the Micro MAX, Adam was in front all the way, winning both Qualifying and the Pre-Final and then taking the nine-lap Final in 9:24.616, enjoying a 5.058s gap ahead of Ali.