Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) awarded over the weekend the 2023–2024 champions of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship (BDRC) and the Bahrain Rotax Mojo MAX Challenge (BRMC).
The BDRC staged its fifth and final round of the season at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” last week, culminating with a thrilling day of eliminations on Friday night.
That was followed the very next evening by the end-of-season awarding ceremony, where the latest title winners of the region’s premier drag racing series, along with those from the Kingdom’s top karting championship, were celebrated.
Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of BIC, attended the prize presentation and handed out the awards alongside Abdulaziz Al Thawadi, General Manager of Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF).
Those in the BDRC roll of honour, who were each presented with a prestigious “Wally” trophy an award given only to champions of National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-sanctioned events globally included: Ahmed Hassan in the 10.0 Index, Fahad Al Khawari in the 9.0 Index, and Ahmed Malallah in the 8.5 Index.
Three individual awards for Rookies of the Season were also awarded. Winners of these trophies were Hassan Ali, Ahmed Hassan, and Saeed Al Balooshi.
Nine of the new champions were victorious in the championship finale. They included Fahad Al Khawari in the 9.0 Index, Ahmed Malallah in the 8.5 Index, Abdulrahman Bo Alwa in the 7.5 Index, Yousif Al Zayani in the Outlaw 6-Cylinder, Yousif Al Ali in the Pro 29.5 V8, Khalil Al Ansaari in the Pro Mod, Mohamed Ali Altitoon in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5, Naser Borbaa in the 8.5 Index Bikes, and Mohammed Al Awwad in the Outlaw Bikes.
In the 9.0 Index class, Fahad Al Khawari triumphed in the final with a run of 9.049 seconds at 233.92kph. He beat countryman Bader Al Foudari, while Yaqoob Al Wadi of Bahrain came third.
In the 8.5 Index, Ahmed Malallah was the victor against Salah Al Haider in an all-Kuwaiti final. Bahrain’s Khalid Abdulkarim joined them on the podium.
Abdulrahman Bo Alwa won the 7.5 Index with a pass of 7.565s at 288.11kph in the final, defeating Jaber Ahmed in the decisive elimination. Meshari Al Kandari came third for an all-Kuwaiti podium.
Bahrain’s Yousif Al Zayani won the Outlaw 6-Cylinder final with a time of 4.185s at 285.04kph. He defeated Saudi Arabia’s Ali Adel, while fellow Bahraini Faisal Mohammed finished third.
Mohamed Ali Altitoon took the win in the Street Fight Bikes 9.5 class with a pass of 10.209s at 213.11kph, defeating Sayed Yousif Faisal in the final. Faisal Isa was third to make it an all-Bahraini top three.
Other victors in the final round were Bahrain’s Abdulrahman Asker in the 10.0 Index, Bahraini Ali Al Fardan in the Outlaw 4-Cylinder, Kuwait’s Ebrahim Abbas in the Competition 4.5, and Saudi Arabia’s Mishari Mohammed in the Pro Street Bikes.
The 2023/2024 BDRC season featured five rounds in all, held along BIC’s world-class, quarter-mile drag strip, which is a part of the Worldwide Network of the U.S.-based NHRA. The series attracted competitors from all across the Gulf as well as from the U.S. and Canada.
The BRMC’s 2023-2024 campaign featured eight rounds. Racing was held along Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIKC) 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track, with karters of various ages and nationalities battling it out in their own Rotax-powered karts.