Simmenauer, Shaikh Hamad lead race winners in gripping National Race Day

Seven different winners rose to the occasion in an electrifying and extra-special edition of National Race Day, held over the weekend at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. Leading the pack were JB Simmenauer, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Ahmed Almuyini and Abdul Samee Syed, each of whom enjoyed a double in their respective championships. JB Simmenauer won two of the three races in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, while Shaikh Hamad claimed an impressive double in the BIC 2,000cc Challenge.

 Almuyini and Syed followed suit in the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR 600) and Bahrain Supersport Championship (BSSP) 125. Others claiming a win apiece were Berkay Besler in the Porsche GT3 Cup, and Hasan Al Awadhi and Masoud Behbehani in the Bahrain Superbike Championship (BSBK). Action in the Porsche GT3 Cup and the BIC 2,000cc Challenge was held along BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix Track, while racing in the BMR 600, BSBK and the BSSP 125 was held down the circuit’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track. In the Porsche GT3 Cup, Simmenauer from France claimed the first chequered flag of the meeting after completing the series’ opening 14-lap sprint in 29 minutes 11.488 seconds. He finished ahead of the Omani duo of Al Faisal Al Zubair and Khalid Al Wahaibi. Al Zubair was 3.774 seconds behind andAl Wahaibi 9.893s back. All three were also the top finishers in the Pro Class.

In the ProAm, Saul Hack from South Africa was the winner ahead of Bahrain’s His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, who should have claimed the class victory but was given a five-second time penalty for a jump start. Magnus Oehman from Sweden was third. In the Am category, Thomas Karlsson, also from Sweden, won ahead of countryman Michael Knutzon and Bahraini Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa. In race two, Besler from Turkey managed to clinch a narrow victory over Simmenauer. Besler won in 29m 10.817s. Only 0.261s separated the pair in the end, with German Leon Koehler finishing in third place overall. Besler and Simmenauer were joined on the Pro podium by Al Zubair. Koehler was the victor in the ProAm class, finishing ahead of Hack and His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla. In the Am category, it was Karlsson, Shaikh Jaber bin Ali and Michael Sauer on the podium. In the third and final Porsche GT3 Cup race of the weekend, Simmenauer and Besler were at it again, this time with the former once taking the chequered flag by a slim margin. Simmenauer won in 29m 13.471s, just 0.478s ahead of Besler, while Al Zubair remained consistent with his second overall podium appearance of the round. All three also the podium placers for the Pro class.