MOTORSPORT – THE fourth round of the 2024-25 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC) took place over the weekend at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir.
Taking victories in their respective classes were Tariq Soofi in the Micro MAX category, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa in the Mini MAX, Nasser Nass in the Junior MAX, Mohammed Alhasan in the Senior MAX, Oliver Kruglov in the DD2 MAX, and Mohamed Almahroos in the DD2 MAX Masters.
They were amongst the kingdom’s most talented karters who battled it out along the 1.414-kilometre track at Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) world-class grassroots motorsport facility in their very own Rotax-powered karts.
The meeting was organised and run by BIC and BIKC in co-operation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF), Bahrain Karting Commission (BKC), and Motorsport Marshals Club.
With the eight-round season reaching its midway point, the intensity went up a notch in the fight for crucial championship points.
Young Tariq continued his dominance in the Micro MAX category with another perfect weekend, topping the timesheets in both Free Practice and Qualifying and then winning the Pre-Final. Tariq then maintained his impressive pace in the Final, winning after nine laps in nine minutes 23.005 seconds. He was nearly 10 seconds clear of runner-up Rashid Almahroos, while Abdulaziz Alsarraf joined them on the podium in third.
In the Mini MAX class, Shaikh Ahmed got things off on a positive note as he led the order in Free Practice. Jude Andrews then clinched pole in Qualifying and went on to win the Pre-Final ahead of Austin Gray, with Shaikh Ahmed third. But in the Final, Shaikh Ahmed took the lead on lap six and powered ahead to secure first place in 9:00.807 after nine laps. He enjoyed a 5.222s gap from Jude, who finished as runner-up, while Leonard Bossi came third 6.119s behind.
In the Junior MAX battles, Demir was the early aggressor as he outpaced Nasser Nass by 0.037s in Free Practice. Nasser then took control from Qualifying onwards, winning the Pre-Final and then holding off his closest challengers in the 15-lap Final to triumph in 13:58.157. Khaled Najjar finished right behind Nasser just 0.284s adrift, while Demir claimed third place 0.687s back.
The Senior MAX category featured the largest grid of the meeting and the action was tight from the opening green flag. Tye topped the timesheet in Free Practice, which saw the leading nine from the 13 competing drivers separated by less than nine-tenths of a second. Tye continued his fine form by clinching pole in Qualifying and then went on to win the Pre-Final just 0.069s ahead of Mohammed Alhasan.
In the Final, however, Alhasan grabbed the opportunity to steal the win as Mejia dropped four places from the front at the start, although did well to recover with a furious charge. Alhasan did enough to take the chequered flag in 10:57.535 after 12 laps, just 0.193s ahead of Mejia on the race classification. Najashi Rashdan came third 2.399s from the winner.
Amongst the DD2 MAX karters, Kruglov proved to be the class of the field this round, leading from start to finish. He won the 15-lap Final in 13:30.075, beating Abdulla Sajjad by 0.205s, while Raoul Sadi came third 1.240s behind.
Almahroos followed suit in the DD2 MAX Masters category, outperforming Khalifa Delaim in Free Practice, Qualifying, and the Pre-Final, before securing victory in the 15-lap Final in 13:42.791 – more than 20 seconds ahead of Delaim.
After all the action, the round’s winners were presented their respective trophies in the podium ceremonies by BIC, BIKC, BMF, and BKC officials.
The season’s fourth meeting marked the final BRMC event of the calendar year. Racing resumes in 2025 with round five on January 11, and then round six is slated for January 24. The seventh and penultimate meeting will take place on February 8, setting the stage for the BRMC finale two weeks later on February 21.
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