BIC 2,000cc Challenge, BMR 600 set to light up BIC track in National Race Day on Friday

 The local racing season continues this weekend at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) with the fourth round of National Race Day taking place Friday ( January 10) evening in Sakhir.

The meeting is set to be the first competitive event of the new calendar year and it is set to feature two of the kingdom’s most popular circuit racing championships.

Set to light up the track at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” are the BIC 2,000cc Challenge and the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600. Both series are set to field highly competitive grids, with more than a dozen participants suiting up in each series.

All the racing action will be held along BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track. The first session is scheduled to begin at 5.15pm and continue all the way until around 10.45pm. The podium ceremony is set to wrap up the evening’s events at approximately 11pm.

All are welcome to attend. Tickets are available at the gate at BD2 for adults and half the price for children.

National Race Day is being organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, Circuit Racing Club and Bahrain Motorcycle Club.

The BIC 2,000cc Challenge is the longest-running circuit racing series in the region. Established in 2007, it follows simple regulations yet is still extremely fun to watch.

The drivers are divided into two classes, including the Pro and the Novice.

Heading into this weekend’s competition, Ahmed Bin Khanen (Honda Civic EG4) tops the championship standings with 116 points. He is closely followed by Nasser Al Alawi (Honda S2000) with 103 points, while Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa is third (Honda Civic) with 100 points. All three drivers are competing in the Pro category.

Amongst the Novice runners, Andreas Buelow (Honda Civic) leads their title battle with 42 points. Husain Al Ghanem (Honda Civic) follows with 30 points, while Wiebke Buelow (Honda Civic) is third on 25 points.

Action in the 2,000cc Challenge gets underway at 5.50pm with Practice. Qualifying will then be held at 6.55pm, setting the grid for Race One at 8.47pm. Race Two will then be held at 10.27pm as the final session of the day. Both races are over 12 laps.

 The BMR 600 is a riders’ championship. The participants take to the tarmac in Yamaha, Kawasaki, Triumph, MV and Honda motorbikes.

Among those to look out for are top contender Ahmed Almuyini, Sa’ad Al Hazza, Ali Ahmed Adiby, Mohammed Redha, Ibrahim Alsharida and Mohammed Alsadiq, to name a few – all of whom were in the top six for both races in the previous round.

The riders will be the first out on track Friday with Practice at 5.15pm. Qualifying will then be held at 6.30pm, with Race One set for 8.12pm. Race Two will then take place at 9.52pm. Both sprints are over 11 laps.