Bahrain Rotax karting kicks off!

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) hosted a thrilling opening round of the 2023/2024 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC) last weekend.

Tariq Sooife, Nasser Nass, Khaled Najjar, Rashid Khalifa and Mohammed Wally all emerged triumphant in their respective classes as the high-octane, wheel-to-wheel action lit up the 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track at Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) world-class grassroots motorsport facility.

Tariq was the winner in the Micro MAX, while Nasser finished first in the Mini MAX category. Khaled claimed the Junior MAX victory, Khalifa captured the Senior MAX win, and Wally took the top podium step in the DD2 MAX class.

The meeting flagged off the eight-round calendar of the new campaign in the BRMC— the Kingdom’s leading national championship organised by BIC and BIKC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) and Bahrain Karting Commission (BKC).

Young Tariq Sooife was the leader amongst the Micro MAX karters from their opening session. After topping qualifying, he won the seven-lap pre-final, and then capped a perfect day with a fine victory in the final.

Tariq completed the nine-lap sprint in nine minutes 23.284 seconds, beating top rival Rayyan Najjar, who was classified nearly two seconds back. Austin Gray finished third in class. In the Mini MAX, Nasser Nass lived up to his tag as the category’s reigning champion and kicked off his title-defence in style.

He put in a strong qualifying to take pole for the pre-final, in which he raced to the win. He then led from start to finish in the nine-lap final, taking the chequered flag in 8:47.058. Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa was the runner-up 1.653s behind, while Demir Albali was classified third 1.720s back.

Impressive

In the Junior MAX, Khaled Najjar also had an impressive showing with his pace-setting form in qualifying and the pre-final. He didn’t let up in the 15-lap final, which he won in 13:50.061 with a massive 18.415s gap ahead of Gianna Pascoal, who came second. Rashid Hilal took the final podium step 23.204s adrift.

The Senior MAX category featured the largest field for the BRMC season-opener, and Mohammed Alhassan was first to make a mark by taking pole for the pre-final after beating out Rashid Khalifa to the top of the qualifying timesheet.

Alhassan rode his momentum to a victory in the pre-final, but the final was a frantic 15-lap battle in the 17-karter field. Three drivers took the lead during the race, including Vedant Menon and Alhassan, who were engaged in a tight, head-to-head fight until lap 13.

This was when Khalifa took over to capture the stunning victory. He had a masterful drive, roaring back from seventh at the start and gradually making up the positions to the front. Khalifa won in a total time of 13:32.814—2.858s ahead of Lewis Smith, who finished third on the road but was promoted to the runner-up spot after Alhassan was given a 10s penalty, dropping him all the way to eighth overall.

Menon came third 3.003s from Khalifa. Finally, in the DD2 MAX class, Mohammed Wally had gotten the better of Abdulla Junaid in all three of the round’s session. Wally took qualifying and the pre-final, and then had a dominant final, which he won in 13:17.991 after 15 laps. Wally enjoyed a convincing 11.340s gap from Junaid at the chequered flag.

At the end of all the racing, the winners were presented their respective trophies by officials from BIC, BIKC, BMF and BKC. The BRMC returns to action in the new calendar year. Rounds two and three are scheduled on back-to-back days on 12 and 13 January.

Round four will then take place 26 January, followed by another double-header on 9 and 10 February for rounds five and six. The BRMC’s penultimate meeting will then take place on 23 February, paving the way for the championship finale on 8 March.