Chevrolet Supercars Gearing Up For Exciting Fifth Round

Bahrain International Circuit announced today, Wednesday 17th February 2010, the confirmation of 16 drivers for round 5 of the Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Championship, taking place on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Bahrain-based series will be participating in YAS 400, the first round of the V8 Supercars Australia Championship 400.
Round 5 will begin on Friday with two sessions for free practice, to be followed by a qualifying run that will determine the grid for the weekend’s first race. Race 1 will then take place on Saturday 20th February, starting at 11 a.m. (Bahrain time). Race 2 will follow in the afternoon starting at 3.45 p.m. (Bahrain time). Each race will run for 10 laps or a maximum 25 minutes.
The SC09 category currently has six competitors who are in contention for the title. Bahrainis Fahad Al Musalam, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Raed Raffii will be up against Australian Tarek Elgammal, Saudi Arabian Abdul Aziz Al Yaeesh, and Emiratis Mohammed Al Owais and Mohammed Al Falasi. This weekend will also see the return of Egyptian racer Raed Charawi and the debut of Saudi competitor Saeed Al Mori, both in SC09 cars.

In the SC06 class Bahraini Faisal Raffii has dominated the whole season with seven consecutive first place finishes. He claimed an impressive double in round four in Abu Dhabi, and with another fine performance, may be well on his way to securing the Championship Title. Other competitors in this class are Ezra Idafar, Briton Tony Whitaker, Frenchman Christophe Mariot, and Saudi trio Alqassim Hamidaddin, Bandar Al Silmy and Husam Al Saleh.
Heading into round 5, Al Musalam, the defending champion, holds first place in the SC09 championship with 57 points. Elgammal improved to second following his first victory of the season in round 4, and is now tied with Al Yaeesh on 44 points. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa rose to fourth place after a double podium the previous meeting, bringing him to 38 points. Al Owais is fifth on 36 points, just one ahead of Raed Raffii who has dropped to sixth.
“What happened to me in both races during the previous round was very unfortunate. I was very disappointed because I could not get even a single point from the weekend, which has drastically affected my standing in the SC09 championship.
“This kind of series does not rely wholly on the skills of the driver, but on everything else from the condition of the car to the work of the technical team and to myself, and we are all striving hard and giving our maximum effort to prepare well for this round. Hopefully, it will reflect on the final results.
“I realize that I will there will be another tough battle awaiting me against my fellow drivers, but I am going to Abu Dhabi to win both races and break the streak of bad luck I have had at this track, where in four races, I have yet to gain any good position.
“I am looking forward to the challenge.”
In the SC06 category, Faisal Raffii’s one-man show sees him comfortably sitting atop the standings with 56 points. He enjoys a 22-point gap from Hamidaddin, who is second with 34. Al Saleh is third on 27 points, while Idafar is fourth with 20, Al Silmy fifth on 19 and Mariot sixth with 10 points.

Raed Raffii, who had strong performances in the first three rounds of the championship but then suffered from two DNFs in the last event, will be hoping to revive his title bid and bounce back this weekend to retain his position among the leading SC09 participants.
A greatly determined Raffii commented: “I’m going to Abu Dhabi to get back to my best, and I will not settle for anything less.