Almansoori powers to sensational double in Bahrain Touring Car Challenge at BIC

Ali Almansoori steers Honda Civic contender to double victory for second successive round as part of National Race Day
Saeed Al Sulaiti wins 1,000cc class, Mohammed Alzaidan triumphs in 600cc in season opener of Bahrain Motorcycle Championship

Ali Almansoori continued his fantastic start to the 2025/2026 Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC) by winning both races in the season’s second round, held over the weekend as part of National Race Day at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

After kicking off the campaign with a double in round one last month, Almansoori repeated his success in his Honda Civic contender along BIC’s 2.554-kilometre Inner Track.

National Race Day also featured action in the opening round of the 2025/2026 Bahrain Motorcycle Championship (BMC), with Saeed Al Sulaiti winning in the 1,000cc class and Mohammed Alzaidan taking first place in the 600cc category.

The meeting was organised and run by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, and the Bahrain Motorcycle Commission.

In the BTCC, Moaaz Elzahrawi got the day’s programme underway by topping the practice timesheet with a fastest lap of 1min 19.270secs in his Honda Civic. But then Almansoori made his presence felt by taking pole position for race one with a quickest time of 1:17.245 in qualifying.

That set the stage for the opening 15-lap sprint, where Almansoori was challenged for the win by three others. He eventually took the chequered flag in a time of 23:37.443 as he fended off Ahmed Bajnaid, also driving a Honda Civic, by a mere 0.527secs. James Taylor in an Acura RSX DC5 took the final podium place 1.598s from first, while Hamad Khamis in a Honda Civic was not far behind in fourth, 1.859s from Almansoori.

Isa Ebrahim in a Honda Civic and Jamal Ebrahim in a Nissan Skyline completed the finishers in fifth and sixth, respectively, while not classified were Elzahrawi, Carina Abdulrahman in a Volkswagen Scirocco, and Ahmed Algaidy in a Honda Civic.

In race two, Almansoori was once again triumphant, this time in 13:55.095. He crossed the finish line with a narrow 2.360s gap from Bajnaid, while Khamis came third 28.764s back.

Jamal Ebrahim and Isa Ebrahim were fourth and fifth, while not classified were Taylor and Algaidy.

Meanwhile, in the BMC, Al Sulaiti set the practice pace with a quickest lap of 1:07.931 on his Yamaha R1, while in qualifying, Fahad Algosaibi in a BMW 1000RR took overall pole, as well as that in the 1,000cc class, with a fastest time of 1:09.381. Alzaidan secured the lead grid position amongst the 600cc competitors with a best lap of 1:09.557 on his Kawasaki ZX6.

In the meeting’s lone 14-lap race, Al Sulaiti prevailed and took overall first place in 16:08.206. Alzaidan followed as overall runner-up 15.089s behind while also taking the win in the 600cc category. Algosaibi came third overall 17.027s back.

Joining Al Sulaiti and Algosaibi on the 1,000cc podium was Fahad Al Gharabally on his Suzuki GSXR.

In the 600cc, Ali Adiby riding a Kawasaki ZX6 finished second while Ali Bou Shehri on a Honda CBR600RR was third.

Following all the action, the winners were presented their respective trophies in their podium ceremonies.

BIC’s 2025/2026 racing calendar is set to feature seven rounds of National Race Day. Round three is scheduled for 21 November, and then the campaign resumes next calendar year with round four on 10 January. Round five will be held on 6 February, and then the sixth and penultimate meeting will take place on 13 March. That will set the stage for the grand finale on 24 April.