Shaikh Hamad triumphs in thrilling National Race Day at BIC

Manama, Dec. 4 (BNA): Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa headlined four different winners in an exciting third round of National Race Day, held at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. Shaikh Hamad raced to the chequered flag in the BIC 2,000cc Challenge. Other winners on the day were Salman Khalaf in the Bahrain Superbike Championship (BSBK), Georges Mokbel in the BSSP 125 and Ahmed Almuyini in the Bahrain Motorcycle Racing (BMR) 600. All the action took place around BIC’s 2.55-kilometre Inner Track. In the BIC 2,000cc Challenge, Shaikh Hamad completed their 12-lap race distance in his Honda Civic with a total time of 15 minutes 55.824 seconds. Shaikh Hamad’s elder brother, Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, followed a close second in his own Honda Civic 2.665 seconds behind. Ahmed bin Khanen in a Honda Civic EG4 followed in third place 5.342s back. Nasser Al Alawi (Honda S2,000), defending champion Tim Birkin (Honda Integra) and Raed Himmo (Honda Civic) were classified fourth through sixth, respectively. A total of 16 drivers started the race, making for a high level of competition in the field. Meanwhile, Salman Khalaf triumphed in the BSBK race in 12:56.640. Al Muyini came in second place 6.111s behind, and then Wesley Pearce claimed the final podium place 9.809s back. Georges Mokbel won the BSSP 125 race in 13:08.467. He finished 7.332 ahead of runner-up Abdul Samee, while Hussain Al Aswad came third 12.449s back. In the BMR 600, Ahmed Almuyini completed the 11-lap event in 12:57.261. Mohammad Al Zaidan followed in second place 6.383s behind while Nasser Al Khadra was a distant third 28.096s off the winner’s pace. All three were the podium placers in the BMR’s Super Stock class. In the Hornet category, Mohammed Al Ateeqi led two others on the podium, namely Pawel Rosciszewski and Ahmad Abdulsalam. Following all the racing, the winners were presented their prizes in a podium ceremony. The next round of national races is scheduled to be held on January 12 next year.