Endurance karters brace for 24-hour race

Manama, Feb. 7 (BNA): One of the toughest tests in all of grassroots motorsport takes place at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) this weekend. The third and final round of the 2017/2018 Bahrain Karting Endurance Championship (BKEC) is a 24-hour challenge, and it is set to light up BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK) track on Friday and Saturday. The circuit is homologated for international racing and combines a great mix of corners and level changes that will thrill even the most experienced drivers. It also offers facilities and electronic systems built to the highest standards. Fifteen teams have already signed up for the gruelling event with time still remaining for late entrants. Aside from the best positioning in the overall classification, the participants will be battling it out in three different categories including the Pro, Nations and Corporate. Those competing in the Pro category are Racing.BH, Zain Racing, Ice Racing, BICMC and Modave Mrk Pro. In the Nations category, appearing are BeeSa Racing, Go Gosaibi, Zain Racing, two Special Needs teams, and three Last Min teams. The Corporate category will be contested between Texel Air and Redline Racing. Karters will be racing on identical 390cc Sodikart GT4s, each of which can generate up to 13BHP. Action begins at 1pm on Friday with Qualifying Practice for 90 minutes. At 3pm, Final Qualifuing will take place with the Top 10 batting over the first 10 minutes and then later at 3.15pm the Top 5 for another five minutes. That sets the stage for the grid walk from 3.30pm to 3.50pm. The race flags off at 4pm, and the the chequered flag comes down exactly a whole day later at 4pm on Saturday. All the action will be followed by the podium ceremony, scheduled to start around 4.30pm. The first and second-placed teams of the 24-hour event will qualify directly to the Sodi World Finals to represent the Kingdom of Bahrain this July. The winner of round three will also be entitled to a free entry to the 24 Hours of Paris, to be held at Racing Kart de Cormeilles, RKC. The first two rounds of the season were three-hour events.