BIC hosts National Race Day season opener as Ali Almansoori wins both BTCC races
BIC hosts National Race Day season opener as Ali Almansoori wins both BTCC races
8 November 2026
Winners in the Bahrain Time Attack classes include Omar Adel Khuder, Mazen Ahmed Dabbous, Ibrahem Abdulrahman Alshareeda, Ali Mohamed Alkhudair, Sultan Turki Alsoud, Ahmad Alshehab and Hatem Hasan Alhazmi.
Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, hosted the opening round of National Race Day for the 2026/2027 season over the weekend.
The meeting featured both the Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC) and Bahrain Time Attack, making for an exciting double-header on BIC’s 2.554-kilometre Inner Track.
Ali Almansoori stole the spotlight, winning both BTCC races in his Honda Civic. He continued his impressive winning streak in the series, which began last season, winning all 14 races he contested en route to securing the championship.
Meanwhile, the winners in the Bahrain Time Attack classes were Omar Adel Khuder in MA, Mazen Ahmed Dabbous in MB, Ibrahem Abdulrahman Alshareeda in SA, Ali Mohamed Alkhudair in SB, Sultan Turki Alsoud in SU, Ahmad Alshehab in ULA, and Hatem Hasan Alhazmi in ULB.
The first round of National Race Day was organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, and the Auto X and Drift Commission.
Moazz Elzahrawi kicked off the BTCC action by topping the practice timesheet in his Honda Civic. Almansoori took charge in qualifying, securing pole position for the first race of the weekend with a best lap time of 1min 16.307secs.
Almansoori went on to dominate race one, taking the chequered flag after 15 laps with a 48.124-second gap over runner-up Isa Ebrahim, who was also driving a Civic. Isa Mahmood, in an Acura RSX DC5, completed the podium, 59.679 seconds behind the winner.
The remaining positions, from fourth to ninth, went to Freddie Taylor in a Volkswagen Scirocco, Hamad Khamis in a Civic, James Taylor in a BMW 135i, Andreas Buelow in an Audi TT, Ahmed Bajnaid in a Civic, and Abdulaziz Taleb in a 135i.
In race two, Almansoori completed his double, winning by 4.704 seconds over Freddie Taylor after 15 laps. Khamis also climbed the podium, finishing third, 7.724 seconds behind the winner.
The leading trio were followed by Buelow in fourth, James Taylor in fifth, Taleb in sixth, Ebrahim in seventh, and Mahmood in eighth.
The seven Bahrain Time Attack classes saw plenty of close competition.
In MA, Omar Adel Khuder took first place in his BMW M3, recording a best lap of 1:14.734 in the second and decisive heat. Fahad Abdulrahman Almulhem, in a Toyota Supra, finished second, 0.086 seconds behind, while Abdulla Abdulaziz Alkhojah, in an Audi RS3, came third, 0.240 seconds adrift.
In MB, Mazen Ahmed Dabbous won with a fastest time of 1:20.595 in his Subaru BRZ. He was 0.907 seconds quicker than Faris Mazyed Almutari, also in a Subaru BRZ, while Amr Alsaeed Almorsi, in a Toyota GR86, came third, 3.808 seconds off the pace.
Ibrahem Abdulrahman Alshareeda won the SA class in his RS3 with a best lap of 1:16.443. He beat Hazim Mohamed Alsabbagh, in a BMW M2CS, by 2.366 seconds, and Hassan Abdulkareem Alzaid, in a Toyota Subaru, by 4.131 seconds.
Ali Mohamed Alkhudair triumphed in SB with a quickest lap of 1:25.489 in a Toyota 86.
In SU, Sultan Turki Alsoud claimed first place with a best lap time of 1:12.651 in his Porsche GT3. Ahmed Khaled Bin Khanen, also in a GT3, finished second, 0.719 seconds behind, while Rakan Talal Suhail, in a Porsche GT4 RS, came third, 1.694 seconds adrift.
In ULA, Ahmad Alshehab took victory with a fastest time of 1:08.928 in his Porsche GT2-RS. He outpaced Yazeed Sameer Suheel, in a Porsche GT3 RS, by 0.583 seconds, while Mohamed Abdulrahman Alshruyan, also in a GT3 RS, came third, 1.805 seconds behind.
Hatem Hasan Alhazmi completed the list of Bahrain Time Attack winners by taking the ULB category in the season-opening round. Driving a Civic, he won with a best lap of 1:18.087, beating Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Alromihi, in a Toyota 86, by 1.567 seconds. Abdulaziz Hani Saab, in a Civic, joined them on the podium in third, 2.977 seconds off the winning time.
Following the action, the winners were presented with their trophies at the awards ceremonies for the two championships.
BIC’s 2026/2027 racing calendar features seven rounds of National Race Day. Round two is scheduled for 13 November, followed by round three on 28 November. The campaign will resume in 2027 with round four on 15 January, followed by round five on 29 January. The sixth and penultimate round will take place on 2 April, setting the stage for the season finale on 16 April.
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