Drag racers put on superb show at BIC

Manama, Nov. 30. (BNA) -- Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), "The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East", hosted an action-packed second round of the 2014/2015 Bahrain National Drag Racing Championship over the weekend. Many of the best drag racers from across the Gulf and beyond squared off against one another in heated competition. Taking centre stage once again was BIC’s world-class quarter-mile drag strip, which is a member of the prestigious National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Worldwide Network. Some of Bahrain’s top talents were amongst those to step onto the top of the podium following fine victories. They included Salah Salahuddin, Adel Hassan, Mohammed bin Hasher, Nawaf Ahmed and Raeed Buti. The meeting was organised by BIC in cooperation with the Bahrain Drag Racing Club (BDRC) and Bahrain Motor Federation. "We enjoyed a very successful round despite the rainy conditions," said BDRC President Fahad Taqi. "The team at BIC did a fantastic job getting the track ready, and we welcomed a very high number of 126 drivers in both the cars and bikes classes. "It was a delight to see many personal bests being set during the weekend. The level of competition is rising in each and every round, and thus the times are getting quicker. It is all very exciting." Salah Salahuddin triumphed in the Street V8 class after narrowly defeating Mohammed Sulyiman by just two-tenths-of-a-second in the final run. Salahuddin clocked a winning time of 8.066s while Sulyiman finished in 8.272s. Ali Al Jowdar was classified third. Salahuddin was denied a double for the round after finishing runner-up to Nabeel Al Isa in the Outlaw 10.5 category. Isa won in 4.272s while Salahuddin had some car trouble. Abdulla Alsuri finished third. Adel Hassan won the Street 4 and 6 category after beating Mohammed Ali in the final. Hassan clocked a winning time of 9.535s which was well ahead of Ali’s 10.241s. Abdulaziz Al Faisal claimed third place in the group. Mohammed bin Hasher followed suit by taking the Outlaw Front-Wheel-Drive class. He had some car trouble in the final race but final opponent Ebrahim bin Hasher had a stage foul. Akram Rashied took the final podium place with third. In the Super Street Six-Cylinder category, Nawaf Ahmed triumphed in 7.713s. Ahmed Al Tayeb was the runner-up and Saud Tukey third. In the Index 10.5 category, which featured the highest number of participants, Raeed Buti won in a time of 10.538s. Tamer Al Khaledi was second in 10.587s, and Khalid Abdulkareem third. In the Outlaw Six-Cylinder class, it was Gary White who triumphed ahead of teammate Khaled Mohammed in the final. Both drivers failed to register a time their decisive run, as did third-placer Yousif Al Zayani. Turki Al Humadi won in the Pro Mod division. He had a time of 4.272s in the final run, where Khaled Mohammed was once again in second in 4.867s. Fadi Tamoor was classified third. Elsewhere amongst the cars classes, Abdulla Khudadad beat Jassim Muqahwe to win the Super Street V8; and Salim Al Tamimi won the Competition 4.5 class after narrowly beating out Hussain Al Shumari in their final battle. There was also plenty of action in the three classes for motorbikes. In the Street Bike class, Musfer Al Musfer won in 8.262s while Bader bin Eidan was second in 8.716s. Mohammed Jarjas finished third. In the Super Street Bike class, Musfer was once again first in 6.797s. Mushari Al Turki finished in second place in 11.942s, while Yaqoub Ali claimed third. In the Pro Bike category, Bill Vose emerged triumphant after winning the final race in 4.060s. Mohammed Burashid was the runner-up in 4.232s, while Mohammed Yagut completed the podium placers. At the end of all the action, the winners were awarded their respective trophies in a prize presentation ceremony. The next round is scheduled to be held between December 16 and 19 at BIC. For more information on the Bahrain National Drag Racing Championship, call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000 or visit the circuit’s official website bahraingp.com. Also, find BIC on Facebook (facebook.com/OfficialBahrainInternationalCircuit), follow BIC on Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit) and Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit), and subscribe to BIC’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/bahrainbic) for regular updates on all happenings at the world-class Sakhir circuit.