National Race Day to bring touring car and motorbike thrills to BIC on Friday

Bahrain Touring Car Challenge to stage second round of 2026/2027 campaign while Bahrain Motorcycle Championship set for season-opener

12 November 2026 – Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, hosts the second round of National Race Day this 2026/2027 season on Friday (13 November) in Sakhir.

The event is set to feature both the Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC) and the Bahrain Motorcycle Championship (BMC), treating fans to an action-packed schedule of racing on both four wheels and two.

Both series offer competitive, high-quality racing and they support the development of local talent.

Friday’s event is being organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, and the Bahrain Motorcycle Commission.

Racing will be held along BIC’s 2.554-kilometre Inner Track, and it is scheduled to begin at 3.25pm and conclude under the lights until around 9pm, to be followed by the podium ceremonies.

All are invited to attend and watch both championships. Tickets cost BD2 for adults and BD1 for children. Fans can enjoy the action from BIC’s Beyon Grandstand, which offers excellent views of key parts of the circuit, including the Inner Straight, where the start and finish lines are located.

Tickets can be purchased online at BIC’s official website bahraingp.com, by calling the BIC Hotline on +973 17450000, or at the gate.

Defending champion Ali Almansoori will lead a 10-car BTCC field. He claimed both races in round one behind the wheel of his Honda Civic, and will be looking to maintain his incredible winning streak, which extends back to his remarkable campaign last season when he secured the title after winning all 14 of the championship’s races.

Alongside Almansoori are Isa Ebrahim, Ahmed Bajnaid, Hamad Khamis, and Moaaz Elzahrawi, all also in Civics, along with Freddie Taylor in a Volkswagen Scirocco, Isa Mahmood in an Acura RSX DC5, Abdalla Alseba in a BMW 330i, and Abdulaziz Talib and James Taylor, both in BMW 135i contenders.

BTCC practice is scheduled for 3.25pm, followed by qualifying at 5pm. The first of the two 15-lap races will then start at 6.15pm, with the second race flagging off at 8.20pm.

In the BMC, 21 riders will be hitting the tarmac, six in the series’ 1,000cc class and 15 in the 600cc category.

The 1,000cc field features Saeed Alsulaiti and Jassim Althani on BMW M1000RR bikes, Fahad Alhashash on a Suzuki GSXR, Saud Al Toura on a BMW S1000RR, Hassan Abdulla on a Honda CBR1000, and Fahad Algharabally on a Yamaha R1.

Amongst the 600cc pack are Omran Jaffar, Nasser Al Khadra, Achraf Hamoud, Abdulrahman Ahmed, Faisal Alshammari, and Hamad Altamimi on Yamaha R6 bikes; Faisal Alshabou, Faisal Bader, and Abdulghaffar Albastaki on Honda CBR600 challengers; Ali Abdulhusain on a Honda CBR600RR; Mohamed Alzaidan and Ali Adiby on Kawasaki ZX6 bikes; Mohamed Al Sadiq on a Triumph Daytona; Hassan Al Awadhi on a Ducati V2; and Khalid Al Khalifa on a Yamaha R9.

BMC practice gets their season underway at 4.10pm, followed by qualifying at 5.40pm. That will set the grid for the round’s lone race, scheduled for a 7.35pm start.

BIC’s 2026/2027 racing calendar features seven rounds of National Race Day. Round three will also be held this month 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, ahead of the season finale on 16 April.