Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024
Event Overview
BIC is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, as the opening round of the 2024 season and its first-ever Saturday night race at the Home of Motorsport in the Middle East on 29 February to 2 March 2024.
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Hospitality
Due to exceptional demand, we have continued to expand our hospitality offerings. This year, we are delighted to offer The Dome Lounge by F1 Experiences, as well as The Champions Club, both tailor-made in response to the massive interest in hospitality options for the grand prix. In addition, the ultimate in world-class hospitality is available in The Paddock Cub Please note that Corporate boxes for 2024 are now sold out.
View MoreHussain clocks perfect reaction time in stunning Pro Mod victory in Bahrain drag racing at BIC
Hussain clocks perfect reaction time in stunning Pro Mod victory in Bahrain drag racing at BIC
Hani Hussain clinched a stunning victory in the Pro Mod category to highlight a hugely exciting fourth and penultimate round of the 2021/2022 Bahrain Drag Racing Championship, held last week at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
The Bapco Motorsport ace surprised chief rival and defending champion Khaled Al Balooshi competing for NHRA champions Bahrain1 Racing. Al Balooshi had won all three meetings prior to this latest event, but this time Hussain sprung a surprise in his Ford Mustang.
Boasting a perfect reaction time of 0.000 seconds—a rare feat in the sport—Hussain powered to the win with a pass of 3.796s in the final with a top speed of 320.18kph.
Al Balooshi finished with a 4.909s mark, with a best speed of 176.66kph. Taking the final podium step amongst the Pro Mod runners was Al Balooshi’s teammate and reigning NHRA Pro Mod champion Stevie “Fast” Jackson. The American made it to semi-finals but went no further.
The Pro Mod was only one of 13 competition categories in the round, which attracted more than 200 competitors in cars and bikes from across the GCC and beyond.
BIC’s world-class drag strip, a member of the prestigious Worldwide Network of the U.S.-based National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), hosted all the action.
Hussain was one of five Bahrainis to triumph in the meeting. The others included Abdulla Yaqoub in the 10.0 Index class, Hussain Al Mahroos in the 8.5 Index, Mohammed Al Haji in the Outlaw 6 Cylinder and Hussain Mohammed in the Pro 29.5 V8.
Yaqoub took his win after a 10.016s run in the 10.0 Index final, with a 214.33kph top speed. He beat Ali Haji’s 10.070s time, while Ali Yousif came third. Al Mahroos followed suit with an 8.570s winning time in the 8.5 Index final at a 255.13kph pace. Hussain Abduljalil was second in 8.658s, while Nawaf Al Khaldy came third. In the Outlaw 6 Cylinder, Haji triumphed with a final run of 5.868s at 160.22kph, beating Yousif Al Zayani to the finish. Ali Abdulla Mohammed took the other podium step in third. Mohammed triumphed in the Pro 29.5 V8 final with a time of 4.060s at 297.21kph, beating Abdulla Al Shamsi’s 6.825s. Abdulla Khdada joined them on the podium.
Five Kuwaitis had also won in round four at BIC. Ahmed Alsaai took the Outlaw 4 Cylinder category with a final pass of 8.776s at 243.63kph, beating Jassim Mohamed Saleh. Ali Mahfoodh came third.
Mohammed Suliman won the 7.5 Index division after beating Sayad Hussain Al Hadad in their deciding elimination, with Mohammed Al Riffai coming third. Fawaz Karam took the win in the Competition 4.5 lass with a time of 4.512s at 248.11kph in the final, where he defeated Bassel Ebrahim Abbas. Ebrahim Abdulla claimed third.
Bader bin Edan won in the Pro Street Bikes class with a 4.699s pass in the final at 238.07kph. Mishari Al Turki was the runner-up with a time of 4.813s, while Jehad Al Jamal came third. Mohammed Al Awwad round off the Kuwaiti winners in the Outlaw Bikes class, where he posted a 4.310s final run at 255.50kph to beat Khalid Al Fowzan’s 6.489s time. Ali Al Mazdi was third.
Elsewhere in the round, Hamdan Juma from the UAE won the 9.0 Index category with an elapsed time of 9.057s at 240.15kph in the final, where he outduelled Faisal Ahmed’s 9.079s. Khalid Waleed finished third.
Saudi Arabia’s Fadi Abu Jamus had twice the reason to celebrate with an impressive double in two bikes classes. He won in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5 category with a time of 9.527s at 205.56kph in the final, beating Theeb Al Qahtani’s 9.884s. Yusuf Hilal was third. Abu Jamus then also won the 8.5 Index Bikes class with a 8.483s time at 277.48kph final run, with Hamad Ahmed as the runner-up at 8.445s. Nasser Borabaa took the other podium step.
Following all the action, the podium placers in all classes were presented their respective trophies in an awarding ceremony, attended by officials from BIC, the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Bahrain Drag Racing Club and the Bahrain Motorcycle Club.
The stage is now set for the final round of the season, taking place this week until Friday (Editor’s note: 18 February) at the BIC strip. The meeting has already gotten underway with the first of two nights of Test and Tune on Tuesday. The testing continues on Wednesday from 7pm to midnight. Qualifying will then be held on Thursday to determine the elimination brackets for Race Day on Friday. The battles begin at 4pm on each day.
Fans are welcome to attend. Tickets are available online at BIC’s official website bahraingp.com and at the gate. They cost BD2 for each day of Test and Tune, and BD5 for the Start Line Grandstand or BD3 for the Batelco Grandstand for Qualifying and Race Day. Tickets for children aged 12 and under are half price.
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