Races roar on

Round five of National Race Day ended in glory for Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Ahmed Almuyini whom continued their winning ways in their respective local championships at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

Shaikh Salman in his multi-coloured Honda Civic won the first of two races in the BIC 2,000cc Challenge while Almuyini claimed the opening sprint in the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600. Both drivers are the current leaders in their respective series.

The races, which were held along Sakhir circuit’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track, were organised by the BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF), Circuit Racing Club (CRC) and the Bahrain Motorcycle Club (BMC).

Mohammed Faqihi, who was also driving a Civic, was the other race winner in the 2,000cc, while Ali Ahmed Adiby took the second event in the BMR 600.

Nasser Al Alawi, driving a Honda S2000, started the 2,000cc battles on a positive note after topping the practice timesheet with a best lap of one minute 17.645 seconds.

Shaikh Salman then captured pole position with a fastest lap of 1:16.331, beating Raed Raffii in another S2000 by just 0.059 seconds.

Shaikh Salman made the most of his leading starting position in a pole-to-flag victory in the 2,000cc’s opening 12-lap race. He completed the sprint in a total time of 15:35.606, just 1.275s ahead of Raffii, who did well to maintain his position in second all through the event.

Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who was also driving a Civic, claimed third place 6.923s behind Shaikh Salman.

Meanwhile Faqihi, Ahmed bin Khanen driving a Civic EG4, and Tareq Al Tajer in a Ford Focus, rounded out the top six. They were all in the Pro class.

In the Novice category, Andreas Buelow was first in 16:28.740. Wiebke Buelow came second while Ali Al Bahrani was third. All three were also driving Civics.

Shaikh Salman added to his win by posting the sprint’s fastest lap of 1:16.667.

In race two, Raed Himmo and Al Alawi were on the front row following the reverse grid rule. Faqihi started from fifth, but he gradually made his way to the front before taking over as the leader on lap eight. He captured the chequered flag in a total race time of 15:42.985.

Raffii was once again the runner-up, beaten by just 0.791s. Al Tajer came third 2.994s behind. Bin Khanen, Majed Himmo and Andreas Buelow completed the top six.

Shaikh Hamad clocked the fastest lap of the sprint of 1:17.087.

With both race results, Shaikh Salman claimed his seventh victory of the season while Faqihi won for the first time.

Meanwhile, in the BMR 600, Adiby in a Kawasaki ZX6R topped practice times with a 1:09.992 lap, before Almuyini riding a Yamaha R6 snatched pole in qualifying with a best mark of 1:09.604.

Almuyini then went on to win the first 11-lap race in 13:04.655. Adiby followed 2.363s behind while Ibrahim Alsharida on a Kawasaki ZX6R was a distant third, 19.165s back. Saad Al Hazza in a Kawasaki ZX6R was fourth, Mohammed Alsadiq on a Triumph 675 fifth and Mohammed Alzahrani riding an R6 was sixth.

In race two, Adiby was the winner in 13:14.660. He finished 6.212s ahead of Alsharida, while Al Hazza came third 8.790s behind. Alsadiq, Mohammed Redha on a ZX6R and Alzahrani completed the top six.

Following all the action, the winners in both championships were presented their respective trophies in the podium ceremony by BIC, BMF, CRC and BMC officials.

The season resumes with the sixth and penultimate round of national races on of February 21 and 22 at BIC.

For details on National Race Day, visit www.bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline on 17450000.