Bahrain1 claim superb win in US!

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain1 Racing, owned by His Majesty the King’s Personal Representative His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, returned to the top of the podium in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series in the US.

Bahrain1’s Kris Thorne powered to a fantastic holeshot victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, as part of this past weekend’s 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA US Nationals.

It was an all-Bahrain1 affair in the final, where Thorne defeated teammate Justin Bond in thrilling fashion.

With the result, Thorne moved into the points lead on the championship standings for the first time this season.

He also claimed his maiden career victory in the US Nationals, his second Wally trophy of this campaign and sixth of his career.

“There is no other race in the world I’d rather turn it around [than Indy],” Thorne was quoted as saying. “I’m super excited we were finally able to conquer this one. I’ve been upside down here, I’ve been on fire here, I’ve torn everything up I’ve owned here.

“This was emotional and great. If I went out today, this is the last race I would ever want to win—the US Nationals, the biggest one.”

The meeting marked the eighth of 10 races in the 2023 season of the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Thorne delivered an epic performance in his Bahrain1 Chevrolet Camaro, going 5.827seconds at 248.07mph in the final against Bond.

Last year’s world champion had a 0.017s reaction time, which made all the difference for a holeshot win, in holding off Bond’s 5.777s at 246.89mph (with a 0.073s reaction time).

The margin at the stripe was thus just 0.006s.

Thorne advanced to the final round with wins over Jerico Balduf, Rickie Smith and Stan Shelton, while Bond qualified for the championship round thanks to victories against Mason Wright, Billy Banaka and Mike Castellana.

With only two races remaining in the season, Thorne holds a 12-point lead over Bond. Jason Lee is 49 points back in third place.

The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series returns to action at the end of the month as part of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in St Louis, Missouri, in the US.