MOTORSPORT – ABDULAZIZ Alsarraf, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa, Khaled Najjar, Luca Houghton, and Abdulla Sajjad were all triumphant in the seventh and penultimate round of the 2024-25 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC) at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir.
The kingdom’s best karters battled it out along BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track, and the action was non-stop and intense throughout the meeting.
Abdulaziz won in the Micro MAX class, Shaikh Ahmed in the Mini MAX, Khaled in the Junior MAX, Houghton in the Senior MAX, and Sajjad in the MAX DD2.
The round was organised by Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and BIKC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) and Bahrain Karting Commission (BKC).
Abdulaziz secured his victory amongst the Micro MAX competitors after a tough fight from the opening session. Tariq Soofi was the early pace-setter as he topped the practice timesheet but then Rashid Almahroos secured pole in qualifying. Tariq went on to win the pre-final, but Abdulaziz managed to get in front early in the nine-lap final and keep his lead until the chequered flag. He won in a time of nine minutes 39.712 seconds – 3.302 seconds ahead of Tariq. Rashid was right behind to complete the podium placers.
In the Mini MAX, Shaikh Ahmed asserted his dominance from the start and never wavered. He led both practice and qualifying, won the pre-final, and then went unchallenged in the nine-lap final to triumph in 9:06.971. Shaikh Ahmed finished 0.843s from runner-up Austin Gray, while Jude Andrews was third 3.885s adrift.
Khaled was the winner in the Junior MAX category but needed to overcome a heated challenge from his closest rivals. He set the pace in practice but then Leopold Juch captured pole in qualifying. Nasser Nass later beat Khaled to the win in the pre-final, but in the final, Khaled overtook Nasser on lap two and defended his position well over the remainder of the 15-lap sprint. Khaled won in 14:40.9086 – just 0.216s from Nasser, while Leopold came third 0.594s back.
The Senior MAX class continued to attract the largest grid of the BRMC and the racing was tight from the get-go. Tye Mejia pipped Mohammed Alhasan by two-hundredths of a second to top the practice times and then repeated the result in qualifying, this time beating Alhasan by six-hundredths of a second. Mejia maintained his fine pace and won the pre-final, but then in the final missed out on a place on the podium following a 15-second time penalty.
Houghton was victorious after taking over as leader in the second of 15 laps and holding on until the finish. He won in 14:11.353 – 0.999s ahead of Vedant Menon in second. Mohammed Hilal finished a distant third 7.358s from Houghton.
In the MAX DD2 class, Sajjad had a perfect weekend, securing first place in each of the four sessions on track. In the 15-lap final, he won from pole in 14:03.558 and enjoyed a 4.442s gap from Oliver Kruglov. Raoul Sadi claimed third place 13.288s behind.
Following all the action, the winners and podium placers were presented their trophies by officials from BIC, BIKC, the BMF, and BKC.
The BRMC is now headed for its 2024-25 championship finale, scheduled for February 21, when the series’ newest champions will be crowned.
Each title winner will have the incredible opportunity to fly the kingdom’s flag in this year’s Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals – one of the most prestigious annual karting events in the world.
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