Kick-off national racing event roars into Sakhir

The Kick-Off National Racing event at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir gets underway Friday (November 16). The two-day racing festival features two of the region’s longest-running and popular championships, namely the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and the BIC 2,000cc Challenge. Racing will be held along the 2.55-kilometre Inner Track at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”. Both are Bahrain-based series and each features leading drivers of different nationals who are based in the Kingdom and across the Gulf. All are welcome to attend this exciting Kick-Off National Racing weekend at BIC. Apart from the racing, there will be plenty of off-the-track entertainment that can be enjoyed for the whole family. Moreover, various food and beverage stalls will also be available. Tickets cost BD2 for adults for both days and BD1 for children. They are available at the gate. The Porsche GT3 Cup will be staging its long-awaited opening weekend of its 2012/2013 season, which marks its fourth edition. The 2,000cc Challenge, meanwhile, will be holding round two of its current campaign, which is season six. Friday’s action on the tarmac gets underway at 9.25am with the weekend’s first practice in the 2,000cc Challenge. The GT3 Cup will then hold its opening tests at 10am. Qualifying will then take place for the 2,000cc runners at 11am, while the GT3 Cup participants will battle for pole position for Round 1 in the championship at 12noon. The weekend’s first 2,000cc race is then scheduled to flag off at 2.20pm, to be followed by the inaugural GT3 Cup sprint at 3pm. Racing continues on Saturday, when both championships will once again hold free practices from 10am beginning with the Porsches. That will lead to another Qualifying and then Race Two in the GT3 Cup at 3pm, while the second race amongst 2,000cc competitors will flag off at 3.45pm. The GT3 Cup, which is run by legendary Austrian racer Walter Lechner, will consist of its strongest-ever grid, which features 18 drivers battling it out in three classes, including the gold (professionals), silver (with experience) and bronze (gentleman racers). The field of competitors is spearheaded by defending champion Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia and former title-winner Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa from Bahrain. The field also includes its first-ever female driver in Christina Nielsen from Denmark. This season will also mark the first time a Teams Championship will be up for grabs. They include squads from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and hometown favourite Team Bahrain. Meanwhile, plenty of excitement is also expected in the 2,000cc Challenge. Organised by the Circuit Racing Club in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation and BIC, the championship kicked off in September with a thrilling first round that saw two of the series’ leading participants, defending champion Stephen Kellogg and chief rival Tim Birkin, claim a victory apiece. The pair are expected to once again be amongst the top contenders for victories this coming weekend. Heading into the second round, Kellogg and Birkin are tied for first on the championship standings with 45 points apiece. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is third with 34 points, while Abdulrahman Ghuloom is fourth with 28. Alex Longden is fifth with 26 points, while Raed Himmo and Hussain Karimi are tied sixth with 15 apiece. For more information, visit the circuit’s official website, www.bahraingp.com, or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.