MOTORSPORT – BAHRAIN1 Racing ace Kris Thorne emerged victorious yesterday in the Pro Mod category of the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, held at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee, in the US.
Thorne had originally finished as runner-up after losing in the final elimination to rival JR Gray. But the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) later announced Gray’s disqualification following a post-race inspection that identified a technical violation for bypassing a safety device.
That promoted Thorne to the top of the podium and earned the win for Bahrain1 Racing, owned by His Majesty King Hamad’s Personal Representative and Supreme Council for Environment president Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Thorne claimed his first triumph of the season and seventh in his career.
The former NHRA Pro Mod world champion had clocked an elapsed time of 5.937 seconds at 203.55mph in the decisive elimination, where Gray posted a 5.812s mark at 247.61mph. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Thorne defeated Jose Gonzalez with a pass of 5.820s at 248.29mph. Gonzalez clocked 5.826s at 247.66mph. Gray beat Mike Thielen in their semis run to set up the deciding head-to-head with Thorne.
Previously, Thorne also beat Ken Quartuccio in the round of eight, which followed his victory against Rickie Smith in the opening stage of the eliminations. His victory was a deserved ending for the Bahrain1 Racing driver in the meeting. He had qualified in first place amongst 23 competitions to go to the top of the Pro Mod ladder for the knockouts.
Thorne was one of four Bahrain1 Racing entrants competing at Bristol Dragway. Teammates Justin Bond, Khaled Al Balooshi, and Jordan Lazic had also taken to the strip, but they were all knocked out in the first round of eliminations. Bond lost to Thielen, Al Balooshi bowed to Billy Banaka, and Lazic was outrun by Dymtry Samorukov.
The Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals is part of the highly competitive 2024 NHRA season, which features rounds all across the US. The calendar kicked off in March and continues until November.
This past meeting was the fifth event for Pro Mod drag racers, with five to go including meetings in Virginia later this month, Indianapolis in August/September, North Carolina and Illinois in September, and in Nevada in October/November.
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