MOTORSPORT – Bahrain's 10-year-old karting champion Tariq Soofi met yesterday with Italian Ambassador to Bahrain Andrea Catalano following his outstanding performances over the past few weeks in the ROK Cup Italia 2025.
Ambassador Catalano expressed his delight to see a Bahraini driver shine in one of the toughest karting championships in Italy. He praised Tariq’s accomplishments and assured him of his personal support, encouraging him to keep chasing excellence both on and off the track.
Tariq was accompanied on his visit to the Italian Embassy by his parents Yousif and Basma and his younger sister Maria.
Tariq, who suits up in the kingdom’s national karting championships with NorthStar Racing, is being guided on his international motorsport journey by Minardi Management – a leading driver management company in Italy established in 2003 by Giovanni Minardi, son of Gian Carlo Minardi, the founder of the historic Minardi Formula One team that bears their family name.
Tariq expressed his happiness in his ROK Cup Italia experiences with Ambassador Catalano. “ROK was very challenging with aggressive drivers and I aim to raise the Bahrain flag and make my country proud,” said Tariq, who is the reigning back-to-back champion in the Micro MAX category of the Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC), the kingdom’s premier karting championship.
Tariq is scheduled to return to competition in the new national racing season’s Sakhir Rotax MAX Challenge and the BRMC. He will also be part of Team Bahrain that will be flying the kingdom’s flag in this year’s Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, which is set to be hosted by the kingdom at the end of the year. In 2026, Tariq is expected to return to Italy and Europe and continue pursuing his motorsport dreams.
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