Title battles set to tighten up as BIC hosts National Race Day on Friday

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosts the fifth round of National Race Day on Friday as the battle for podium places and championship points continues to tighten up.

The meeting is set to feature action in two of the kingdom’s most popular circuit racing series: the BIC 2,000cc Challenge and the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600.

With only three rounds remaining in the season, competitors are now feeling the pressure to deliver only positive results, making for plenty of heated and closely contested racing.

All the action will be held along BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track. The first session is scheduled to begin at 9.25am and continue all the way until after 3pm. The podium ceremony is set to wrap up the evening’s events at approximately 3.30pm.

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

National Race Day has been 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.

Following an eventful fourth round held in wet conditions earlier this month, Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Honda Civic) moved into the lead on the championship standings with an impressive double. He now has 150 points, just eight ahead of previous leader Ahmed Bin Khanen (Honda Civic EG4).

The top two enjoy a significant gap from Mohammed Faqihi (Honda Civic), who is third on 112 points, while Raed Raffii (Honda S2000) is fourth with 108 points and Tareq Al Tajer (Ford Focus) fifth on 105. Nasser Al Alawi (Honda S2000) rounds out the top six with 103 points.

Each of the challenge’s top six drivers are competing in the race’s Pro category.

In the title battle for Novice participants, Husain Al Ghanem (Honda Civic) is now in first place with 47 points. Andreas Buelow (Honda Civic) follows with 42 points, while Ali Al Bahrani (Honda Civic) is third on 25 points.