Records smashed at BIC’s drag race qualifiers
BIC, Sakhir:
A record-smashing first round came to a close late last night at the BIC drag
strip after bikers and racers gave spectators a gripping performance.
Approximately 86 cars and 27 bikes took to the 1.2km drag strip with the aim of
clinching the number one spots in various categories including 11 car racing
categories and three motorbike categories. Fierce competition was seen amongst
those who successfully passed the scrutineering checks seen earlier this week.
The most intense of categories this round was the Pro Mods which saw seven cars
enter including two from the Qatari challenge-thirsty Al-Anabi team. Driving for
the team were American drag racers Sean Jenkins, who hit an all-new record time
of 6.632 seconds and breezed to first place, and Mike Castellono.
Not far behind was Bahraini Ali Aryan in second place in his Mustang Willys with
6.804 seconds.
Fellow Bahraini Khaled Mohammed, racing for team Popey, was third with an
impressive 6.839 seconds. As for American Mike Castellono from the Al-Anabi
team, he was placed in fourth position with 6.843 seconds. Emirati Ali Al-Kaabi
from Al-Seem Racing held onto fifth with 7.119 seconds whilst last year’s runner
up Emirati Khaled Al-Belushi had the misfortune of a car fault and had to resort
to an older vehicle, putting him in sixth with 7.862 seconds.
The biggest shock came when defending champion Emirati Bader Al-Ahli lost his
title and made it to a disappointing seventh place in his brand new Mustang
Super Charger – the only one in the Middle East – with 9.650 seconds. During
previous free sessions the star hit a record time of 6.25 seconds – the fastest
ever recorded on the BIC drag strip.
The toughest competition was seen between Bader Al-Ahli and Ali Aryan, as well
as Khaled Mohammed and Khaled Al-Belushi and Ali Al-Kaabi was seen going
head-to-head against Mike Castellono.
The other categories also saw racers giving it their all to make it to the
number one position in their categories. One outstanding performance was seen as
Emirati drag star Juma Al-Kaabi finished in first place with 8.346 seconds,
seconds faster than his rivals, in the Outlaw 10.5 group. As for Qatari Mustafa
Al-Atat, he finished with an astonishing record time of 6.939 seconds – compared
to last year’s fastest time of 8 seconds – in the Outlaw Rear Wheel category. In
the motor bike categories, Bahraini champ Yahya Hashim shone on the strip and
gave an exceptional performance.
Participants came in from all across the GCC and were of a range of
nationalities. From Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar to Bahrain, this was proof of
the growing drag racing culture in the region and the BIC’s role as the “home of
motor sport in the Middle East”.
