National Race Day brings the excitement in hotly contested season-opener at BIC

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, hosted a thrilling opening round of National Race Day this 2025/2026 season in Sakhir.

The meeting featured the Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC) and Time Attack, with plenty of exciting action from day to night along BIC’s 2.550-kilometre Inner Track.

Ali Almansoori secured a sensational double in the two BTCC races, while winning in Time Attack were Omar Adel Alkhudhur, Fares Almutari, Yazeed Alsaheel, Hamad Salah Albalooshi, Ibrahim Al Sharidah, Sulaiman Alsaheel, and Hisham Bediea Al Bediae.

The event was organised and run by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, and the Auto X and Drift Commission.

In the BTCC, Ahmed Algaidy driving a Honda Civic kicked things off by topping the practice session with a best lap time of 1min 21.568secs. Almansoori then stepped it up in qualifying and secured pole position for race one with a time of 1:18.758 behind the wheel of his Honda Civic.

Almansoori defended his position well over the first 15-lap race and took the chequered flag in 20:19.298 – enjoying a 6.375s gap from runner-up Moaaz Elzahrawi, also driving a Honda Civic. Ahmed Bajnaid completed the podium placers in third a distant 26.300s from the winner.

James Taylor in an Acura RSX DC5 claimed fourth place, while Hamad Khamis and Rakan Al Fayez, both in Honda Civics, were fifth and sixth, respectively, to round out the final classification.

In race two, Khamis started at the front but Almansoori emerged victorious once more. This time, he had a bigger gap at the finish, completing the distance in 20:37.175 – 7.379s clear of Bajnaid in second place. Elzahrawi came third 13.249s back.

Taylor was fourth while Al Fayez took fifth.

Meanwhile, in Time Attack, Alkhudur triumphed in the competition’s MA class with a best time of 1:15.915. Fahad Abdulrahman Almulhem and Abdulla Sahel Shukri joined him on their podium.

Almutari secured his victory in the MB class with a fastest time of 1:20.167. Mazen Dabbous and Maan Mahmoud Aljabrah were second and third, respectively.

Yazeed Alsaheel claimed the SA category, posting a top time of 1:11.373 for first place. Mohamed Sami Aldosseri was second and Mohamed Abdulla Alghamdi finished third.

Albalooshi was the victor in the SB class with a mark of 1:24.765, while Fahad Saleh Alkuwari was the runner-up and Layla Hasan Alqasmi came third.

Alsharidah triumphed in the SU category in 1:11.324. He was followed by Sultan Turki Al Saud and Ahmed Khaled Binkhanen.

Sulaiman Alsaheel was the victor in the ULA class. He clocked a fastest time of 1:09.882. Bajnaid was the runner-up and Algaidy came third.

Al Bediae took first place amongst the ULB field to complete the round’s list of winners. He triumphed in 1:20.669, while Abdulaziz Alramih was second and Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Alsayed third.

At the end of the day’s action, the podium ceremonies for both the BTCC and Time Attack were held.

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