Racing Bahrain crowned endurance karting champions after 24-hour race win

Racing Bahrain won a tightly contested 24-hour final round in the 2018/2019 Bahrain SWS Endurance Karting Championship, held over the weekend at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir.

The supremely talented quartet of Mohammed Mattar, Khaled Alsaei, Khaled Alrayes and Duarte Lopes put on a dazzling display of teamwork and grit as they overcame a gruelling challenge from the elements, their fellow-competitors and BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK) Track.

With the result, Racing Bahrain claimed the overall title for the 2018/2019 endurance karting season.

They enjoyed a narrow winning margin in the weekend’s finale, with their chief rivals GO Bahrain hot on their heels.

GO Bahrain finished just 1.898 seconds behind the victors after an entire day’s worth of battling. The deserving runners-up were comprised of Ali Baslar, Abdulla Buhendi, Raed Raffii and Rashed Almuammari.

Both teams completed 1,131 laps over the race duration, but Racing Bahrain were able to squeeze ahead for their hard-earned triumph.

Finishing in third place overall with 1,125 laps were Bapco Sadeem, who comprised of Osama Albuflasa, Faisal Alshadii, Abdulla Althawadi, Talal Beshara and Mohammed Jalal.

BeeSa Racing (Paul Lecaillon, Bader Mubarak, Khaled Alzayed, Osama Azzouka) were fourth with 1,124 laps, Racing Bahrain Jr (Hussain Hasan, Khalifa Alyaqoob, Mohammed Ameen, Khaled Alwazzan) fifth on 1,121 laps and Bapco Motorsports (Saud Alshreedi, Isa Mahmood, Khalifa Alzayani, Abdulrahman Alawadi) were sixth, also with 1,121 laps.

Aside from taking the overall victory, Racing Bahrain were also first place in the Pro category. They were followed by Bapco Sadeem and BeeSa Racing.

In the Nations class, Go Bahrain were the winners, while Racing Bahrain Jr were second. MMC Racing (Ahmed Ebrahim, Hisham Ali, Essam Alabbasi, Fuad Ahmed, Safyan Almalki, Mohammed Shams) came third.

Finally, Bapco Motorsports triumphed in the Corporate category, adding to their overall classification in sixth.

A total of 14 squads competed in the event, in which drivers took turns racing for their teams in identical 390cc Honda-powered Sodikart GTR 4s, each of which can generate up to 13HP.

Following the round’s results, Racing Bahrain had another reason to celebrate as they also claimed the season’s title in the Bahrain SWS Endurance Championship. The winners finished with 120 points at the end of this year’s campaign, 18 points ahead of GO Bahrain. Bapco Sadeem were a distant third with 84 points. With their championship win, Racing Bahrain secured free entry to the 24 Hours of Gulf Run Kuwait 2020.

Aside from their overall title, Racing Bahrain were also champions in the Pro class. They had 120 points in first place, ahead of Bapco Sadeem with 102 points and BeeSa Racing on 45 points.

In the Nations category, Go Bahrain were winners with 120 points. Racing Bahrain Jr were second on 77 points and Bapco Lubes third on 46 points. The Corporate class title was claimed by Bapco Motorsports with 104 points. Ithmar Bank were second on 60 points, while Redline Racing came third on 42 markers.

The 2018/2019 season of the Bahrain SWS Endurance Championship featured four rounds in all and included races over three hours, six hours, 12 hours and 24 hours in length.

Following all the action in the finale, the round’s winners were presented their respective silverware in a podium ceremony attended by officials from BIKC, Bahrain International Circuit and the Bahrain Motor Federation.