Batelco 2000CC set the desert ablaze
BIC, Sakhir:
The heat is on, once again at the “home of motor sport in the Middle East”, the
BIC, in today’s fourth round of the Bahrain National Racing Championship and the
second round of the Batelco 2000CC Challenge which could see the first prize
winner take home 450 dinars.
A schedule packed to the brim
The excitement kicks off today with the Circuit Racing Club’s Batelco 2000CC
Challenge from 0730 in the morning where registration and scrutineering checks
will take place. This will be the first race of the day with the first free test
sessions at 0850 followed by the second at 0950. Qualifiers will kick off at
1050 to determine where the drivers will be on the starting grid, whilst the
first race will begin at 1326. The second race grid line-up will be determined
from the first race results and will take place at 1600.
During this time, the Formula BMW Championship will also be carrying out two
free test sessions and qualifiers. The first race will take off at 1215 whilst
the second will start at 1417.
A tough battle in the Batelco Challenge
Spectators will be given a run for their money as they turn up to watch the
tough battle unravel on the tarmac. For only 2 dinars for adults, and 1 dinar
for children aged between 3 and 15, fans will get to see Bahraini driver Shaikh
Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa fight to hold onto his number one spot. In
the first round, the champion was seen winning both races and snatching up a
maximum 50 points and a grand prize of 900 dinars.
Michael Spahn will be putting up a tough fight as he currently stands not so far
behind the Bahraini driver with 44 points, and 800 dinars. Stephen Kellogg
stands in third place with 40 points and 700 dinars, whilst Bahraini Ali Al-Qubaisi
follows in fourth with 30 points and 600 dinars. In fifth place, with 32 points
and 500 dinars is Tareq Al-Tajer whilst Faisal Al-Raffii stands in at 28 points
and 400 dinars not too far behind.
Having shown great skills and a top performance, Shaikh Salman looks like he
will be facing a heated round against other drivers who are attempting to step
up their game and clinch the number one spot.
Batelco, the official sponsor, has given away prizes for the challenge worth
3900 dinars so far.
More participants, greater success
CRC Club President Mazen Al-Hilli was delighted with the media coverage and
reception that the Challenge has received so early on in the Championship. He
stated that there will be an additional three participants joining the Challenge
should their cars pass the safety checks and scrutineering. On board the
challenge will be Isa Al-Kooheji as well as Rashed Al-Jowder and Mohammed Saleh,
something exciting to look forward to.
Al-Hilli also added that whilst there were 16 drivers participating in the
Challenge, several would not be able to partake in today’s round, as some cars
needed further modifications to pass the scrutineering. He stated that the club
has gone to extra measures during the last three weeks to provide participants
with as much information and advice on the requirements needed to pass the
tests.
The club president extended his thanks and deepest appreciation to all those
supporting the Championship and commended them for their efforts which were
paying off by the amount of success that the first round has seen.
He also thanked the official sponsor and the BIC, stating that their maintenance
team’s efforts who took onboard the responsibility of preparing the cars for the
championship. From roll cages to safety belts and fire extinguishers, the 1000
dinars worth of safety measures were installed and checked by the circuit.
