Bin Khanen, Al Alawi claim 2,000cc wins while Almuyini doubles in BMR 600 at BIC

Ahmed bin Khanen and Naser Al Alawi claimed a victory apiece in the BIC 2,000cc Challenge while Ahmed Almuyini registered a fine double in the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600, held as a part of National Race Day last Friday at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

The meeting marked the second round of both series in the 2018/2019 season.

All of the action was held along BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track. The round was organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF), Circuit Racing Club (CRC) and Bahrain Motorcycle Club (BMC).

Bin Khanen won the first race in the 2,000cc Challenge while Al Alawi clinched Race Two.

Bin Khanen triumphed behind the wheel of his Honda Civic EG4 with a total race time of 15 minutes 52.605 seconds.

Raed Raffii, who was ahead of bin Khanen for the first five laps, followed as the runner-up a narrow 1.570 seconds behind in his Honda S2000. Mohamed Faqihi was a close third, completing the race just 1.696s from the winner in his Civic.

Tareq Al Tajer (Ford Focus), Majed Himmo (Civic) and Al Alawi (S2000) rounded out the top six overall, who were also the leading six drivers in the Pro category classification.

Andreas Buelow won the Novice class also in a Civic. He was joined on their podium by Wiebke Buelow (Civic) and Ali Al Bahrani (Civic).

Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Civic) clocked the race’s fastest lap of one minute 16.499 seconds before being forced to retire in the fourth lap.

In race two, Al Alawi was on pole, as per the reverse-grid rule, and he took full advantage. Al Alawi did a masterful job keeping his lead and his closest challengers at bay, first defending from Himmo before taking his fantastic victory in a dramatic finish from a hard-charging bin Khanen.

Only 0.020s separated the pair in the end. Al Alawi won in 15:58.048. Joining them on the overall and Pro podiums was third-placer Faqihi, who finished 3.879s behind. Raffii, Al Tajer and Himmo were once again in the top six.

In the Novice class, it was the same trio in the same order of Andreas Buelow, Wiebke Buelow and Al Bahrani.

Al Alawi added to his victory with the race’s fastest lap of 1:18.639.

In the BMR 600, Almuyini was dominant from start to finish. He won the meeting’s first 11-lap race from pole, holding on to his position until the very end. He was closely followed by Ali Ahmed Adiby, who was just 0.669s behind. Sa’ad Al Hazza finished third 1.357s back.

In Race Two, Almuyini’s start from pole once again helped him power to the win. This time, he was 3.116s ahead of Adiby while Adel Najjar finished third 4.649s.

Almuyini added to his double with the fastest laps of both races. He had a best of 1:10.721 in Race One and then followed that up with a top lap of 1:10.640.

Following all the action, the winners were presented their respective trophies by officials from BIC, the BMF, the CRC and the BMC.

Round Three of National Race Day takes place on December 20.