Exciting battles light up the strip in Bahrain Drag Racing Championship 2025/2026 season-opener

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, hosted a thrilling first round of the 2025/2026 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship last week.

Nearly 200 drag racers from across the region, including 120 in cars and 70 on motorbikes, hit BIC’s quarter-mile drag strip for plenty of heated head-to-head battles.

Three Bahraini drivers headlined the list of winners in the series’ various classes. They included Ali Rabeea in the 10.0 Index category, Hussain Ali in the 8.5 Index, and Mahmood Saleh in the Outlaw 4-Cylinder.

Four other victors were from Saudi Arabia, namely Mohammed Albrahim in the 9.0 Index class, Khalid Aldossari in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5, Mishari Al Turki in the Pro Street Bikes, and Jihad Aljamal in the Outlaw Bikes; while four others came from Kuwait, including Abdulrahman Bo Alwa in the 4.8 Index, Jassim Zaman in the Outlaw 6-Cylinder, Abdulrahman Borubaa in the Competition 4.5, and Naser Borabaa in the 8.5 Index Bikes.

The UAE’s Faisal Alshehhi triumphed in the Pro 29.5 V8 category to complete the list of victors from the season-opener.

The Bahrain Drag Racing Championship, which is sanctioned by the NHRA, is being organised and run by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Bahrain Drag Racing Commission, and the Bahrain Motorcycle Commission.

Rabeea took first place in the Index 10.0 class after defeating fellow-Bahraini Sadeq Mohamed in the final, with both having break outs. Saud Alatawi, also from Bahrain, joined them on the podium in third.

Ali took the 8.5 Index win with a bye in the final, while compatriot Khaled Hamidan was ranked third.

Mahmood Saleh won the Outlaw 4-Cylinder category after defeating Jasim Saleh in the decisive elimination run. Mahmood Saleh took the all-Bahraini duel in 10.644 seconds at 191.40kph, while Jasim Saleh clocked 11.305s at 249.06kph. Mohsen Mohsen, another competitor from Bahrain, finished in third place.

Saudi’s Albrahim won the 9.0 Index class after defeating Bahrain’s Safwan Adel in their final. Albrahim had a pass of 9.125s at 207.04kph, while Adel ran for 9.012s at 237.99kph. Hussain Alasfour from Saudi was third.

Aldossari triumphed in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5 after overcoming Hussain Abujawher from Bahrain in the final, where both had break outs. Mohammed Ebrahim, also from Bahrain, finished third.

Al Turki was tops amongst Pro Street Bikes participants with a 4.337s pass at 280.94kph in the final, where he beat Bahrain’s Yusuf Ahmed. Saudi’s Fadi Abujamus claimed third place.

In the Outlaw Bikes category, Aljamal claimed first with a 4.603s run at 250.18kph in the concluding elimination. He beat Fahed Alharbi from Kuwait, who registered a time of 65.000s. Alharbi’s countryman Saad Jumah came third.

Bo Alwa was triumphant in the 4.8 Index class with a 4.805s pass at 222.33kph in the final. There, he beat compatriot Nawaf Alkhaldi, who had a red light. Saud Harakah from Saudi took third place.

Zaman followed suit by winning the Outlaw 6-Cylinder with a final run of 4.609s at 256.16kph. He beat Faisal Alarab of Bahrain, who had a 12.153s time at 100.10kph, while Ali Ibrahim from Saudi was third.

Borubaa won the Competition 4.5 class with a time of 4.536s at 221.68kph in the final. He defeated Obaid Albalooshi from the UAE, who had a red light. Mohammed Alfaras from Kuwait joined them on the podium.

Borabaa was then the victor amongst the 8.5 Index Bikes, where he took the final in 8.507s at 249.50kph. Ali Bahram from Bahrain had a red light in his run, while Kuwait’s Shehab Burabaa finished in third place.

Alshehhi completed the list of winners by claiming first place in the Pro 29.5 V8 final in 5.886s at 138.28kph. Abdulla Alshamsi from Saudi was the runner-up in 6.831s at 168.30kph, while Ali Jaffar from Bahrain climbed the podium in third.

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

The 2025/2026 calendar of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship features five rounds. Round two is scheduled to be held from 23 to 26 December. Rounds three and four will then take place on back-to-back weekends from 6 to 9 January and 13 to 16 January next year, while the grand finale is set for 3 to 6 March.