Gulf Air Desert 400 Ready For The Weekend

The fourth 2010 Gulf Air Desert 400 to be hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, featuring the V8 Supercars Australia Championship and GP2 Asia Series, will be kicking off at Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday 25th February. The event is the second largest motorsport weekend held in Bahrain and has established itself as a melting pot of cultures and nationalities as international and regional visitors alike travel to the Kingdom to experience some of the most thrilling racing action of the year.
Practice sessions for the V8 Supercars Australia Championship, GP2 Asia Series and Batelco 2000cc Challenge will all take place on Thursday 25th February. Qualifying sessions for the GP2 Asia and Batelco 2000cc will also take place on Thursday, while the official races will be held on Friday 26th February and Saturday 27th February.
V8 Supercars take part in Wildlife and Go Green Activities
The V8 Supercars Australia Championship, headed by Chairman Tony Cochrane, visited Hawar Islands yesterday, Tuesday 23rd February, as part of a wildlife clean up operation. Several of the V8 Supercars drivers, including Karl Reindler, Jason Richards, Paul Dumbrell, Steve Richards, Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes were part of the visit.

In the meantime, other drivers such as defending back-to-back champion Jamie Whincup, Jason Bright, Todd Kelly, Rick Kelly, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Davison, Tim Slade, Lee Holdsworth, Michael Caruso, Dean Fiore, Daniel Gaunt and Andrew Thompson all took the time out to have a friendly yet competitive drive at Bahrain International Circuit’s Kart Zone this afternoon, Wednesday 24th February.
In other events off the track, several V8 Supercars drivers will be taking some time out to help Bahrain International Circuit’s ‘Go Green!’ environmental campaign. James Courtney, Steven Johnson, Jonathon Webb, Tony D’Alberto, Jason Bargwanna and Tony Ricciardello will all be planting seeds around the circuit premises in order to increase the greenery in the area and deliver their ‘Go Green!’ message.
Batelco 2000cc Challenge set to thrill
There will be plenty of action in the Batelco 2000cc Challenge, which will be staging the fifth round of its 2009/2010 season. Only seven points separates the top four drivers on the season’s standings, and their battles are set to intensify further with only the latter half of the season remaining. Mustafa Al Khan, the series’ defending champion, and Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa were both victorious in the fourth round.
Al Khan currently leads the standings with 69 points. He is ahead of Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa who has 64 points, while Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is third with 63 points. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa’s brother, Shaikh Salman bin Isa, is in fourth place with 57 points.