National Race Day set for intense battles under the lights Friday at BIC

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosts the second round of National Race Day on Friday (November 1) with two of the kingdom’s leading circuit racing championships hitting the track.

Set to shine under the state-of-the-art floodlights at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” are the supremely talented competitors of the BIC 2,000cc Challenge and the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600.

They will be battling out along BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track, and the title-fight that kicked off in the 2019/2020 season’s opening round earlier this month is set to intensify.

Action is scheduled to begin at 4pm and continue until around 10pm. All are welcome to attend. Tickets are available at the gate at BD2 for adults and BD1 for children.

National Race Day is being organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, Circuit Racing Club and Bahrain Motorcycle Club.

The BIC 2,000cc Challenge was established in 2007 and it is the longest-running circuit racing series in the region today. Following simple regulations yet being extremely fun to watch, it is a hotly contested and professionally run championship.

The 2,000cc has two women running in both its Pro and Novice categories, setting Bahrain as a pioneer in national races and in supporting women racers in the region.

Former champion Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa clinched a superb double in Round One and he will be back for more on Friday as he hopes to extend his championship lead.

Shaikh Salman will be facing some stiff competition, however, with a packed grid of rivals in the Pro class. Among them are Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Raed Himmo, Raed Raffii, Ahmed bin Khanen, Abdulla Al Qaoud, Mohammed Faqihi, Majed Himmo, Giovanni Salerno, Nasser Al Alawi, lady driver Martyna Al Qassab and defending champion Tareq Al Tajer.

Also competing will be a highly competitive field in the Novice category. This includes Husain Al Ghanem, Bassim Al Alawi, Shaikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Andreas Buelow and Wiebke Buelow, who is the series’ other lady participant.

Friday’s action in the 2,000cc begins with Practice at 4.35pm, followed by Qualifying at 5.40pm. Race One is then scheduled for 7.48pm while Race Two will be at 9.13pm. Both sprints are set for 12 laps each.

Meanwhile, the BMR 600 is a riders’ championship that features identical 600cc, four-stroke Honda Hornet bikes.

Practice kicks things off at 4pm, followed by Qualifying at 5.15pm. The first 11-lap race is then scheduled for a 7.02pm start, with the second sprint set for 8.37pm.

Friday’s programme is set to culminate with the Podium Ceremony.