Bahrain drivers had mixed fortunes in the last two qualifying heats of different categories in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) 2023 at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) yesterday.
The young karters, who represent different teams on the domestic circuit, are part of a unified Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) team for this competition.
And Luca Houghton, competing in the Junior Max, had the best day out of all his teammates as he finished fourth overall after the three qualifying heats with 124 points, eight behind leader Lou You-De from Japan.
Luca, 14, will now start today’s second Junior Max pre-final race in P2 while teammate Tye Mejia, also 14, will be further down the grid in P17 after his impressive RMCGF debut showing in the first two qualifying heats was undone by a collision in the third that left his kart with a bent axle, forcing him out of the race.
Tye will now start today’s Junior Max pre-final race in P17. But the teenager wasn’t unduly bothered about having to start almost halfway down the 36-driver grid.
“It’s been going well,” Tye, who has been driving for Northstar Racing since 2021, told the GDN in the giant tent next to the BIKC track where all the drivers and their teams retire to with their karts when they’re not racing.
“It’s not been easy but we’ve been in the top ten most of the time. We got a track limits penalty on Wednesday that set us back a bit because it’s a bit hard, thereafter, starting from basically last on the grid.
“But I’m pretty confident about doing well in the pre-final,” Tye, who competed in the British Kart Championships and the Kartmasters British Kart Grand Prix last summer, said.
The teenager added that racing in familiar conditions at the BIKC track would give him an added advantage in the pre-final.
“This circuit has a nice track,” he explained.
“Since it’s my home track, I find it easier to drive here.”
Live from the race
Meanwhile, in the second Mini Max pre-final, BIKC’s Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa will start at P23 while teammate Nasser Nass will begin from P35 in the 36-kart grid today. Both are also making their RMCGF debuts.
And, in the first pre-final of the Senior Max category, BIKC driver Mohammed Alhasan, who is also competing in the RMCGF for the first time, will start in P18 in the 35-kart grid.
Teammate Oliver Kruglov, who also made his RMCGF debut, unfortunately was ruled out of the competition after a bad accident during the first Senior Max qualifying heat on Wednesday left him with a fractured hand.
Meanwhile, BIKC’s Lewis Smith will start from P13, in a 15-kart grid, in the only E20 Senior pre-final today.
Also today, head-to-head eliminations will be taking place along Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) world-class NHRA drag strip as the BDRC holds Race Day as an exciting culmination to the first meeting’s events.
More than 200 competitors in the cars and bikes classes are set to battle it out for podiums, bragging rights and all-important championship points in BDRC. The drag racers are flying the flags of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
The 14 categories of competition in this season’s BDRC include the Index 7.5, Pro 29.5 V8, Outlaw 4 Cylinder, Outlaw 6 Cylinder, Index 10.00, Index 9.00, Index 8.50, Competition 4.5 and Pro Mod; while the motorbike classes are Pro Street Bike, Street Fight 9.5, Index 8.5 Bike, Outlaw Bike and Street Fight.
BIC is calling on motorsport fans to come and enjoy some of the most thrilling racing action all throughout this weekend at ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’.
Today’s programme is scheduled to be held from 4pm onwards. Race Day tickets are BD3 apiece. Spectator seating will be available along BIC’s Beyon Grandstand.
For more information on the RMCGF 2023, the BDRC or other events and activities at BIC, visit the circuit’s official website bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000.
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