Bahrain Aug 25th 2010– Bahrain International Circuit, ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, hosted an exhilarating round of Autocross last weekend, with Bahraini superstars Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Salah Salahuddin among the evening’s winning drivers.


Action was organized by the Circuit Racing Club in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain International Circuit.

It was the first of two rounds of Autocross to be held this Ramadan. The wide number of competitors, which included the debut of a woman participant, signified the popularity of the sport among the Kingdom’s motor racing enthusiasts.

BIC fast female driver Narmeen Abdulwahab accepted an Encouragement Prize when she drove her VW GTI to became the only woman to compete in an Autocross event at BIC - cool....

Shaikh Hamad bin Isa was the winner of the Class B Modified (2000cc and above), while Salahuddin triumphed in the Class B Standard (4-6 Cylinder 2000cc and above).

Other winners were Raed Himmo in the Class A Modified (up to 2000cc), and Hussain Alahmadi in the Class C Standard (8 Cylinder and above).

In the Class B Modified, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa won driving his BMW M3 CSL after completing the course in a time of 41.050secs.

Muath Al Essa in a BMW M3 was the runner-up in 41.642secs, while Hussain Karimi in a Lotus Exige S came third in 42.670secs.

Salahudddddddddiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnn...

In the Class B Standard, Salahuddin finished atop the podium with a dominant performance in his Mitsubishi EVO X. He had a winning time around the course of 40.833secs.

Mohammed Aseeri in a Volkswagen Golf GTI was a far second in 42.856secs, while Suliman Al Ghunaim in a Porsche Carrera S was third in 43.709secs.
In the Class A Modified, Himmo won driving his Ultralite to the finish in 39.000secs.

He was followed by Adel Faraj in a Westfield in 41.989secs as runner-up, and Filippo Egizil in a REnault Clio Sport came third in 42.936secs. In the Class C Standard, Alahmadi, driving a BMW M5 E39, was victorious in 42.513secs. The winners of each category were awarded a cash prize of 50 BD by the CRC. The runners-up received 30 BD, while the third-placers got 10 BD each.

A special Encouragement Prize was awarded to woman driver Narmeen Abdulwahab driving her Volkswagen Golf GTI, (Ed- Respect) Narmeen became the only woman to compete in an Autocross event at Bahrain International Circuit.

The second and final Autocross round of this Ramadan will take place this coming Friday evening at Bahrain International Circuit. All those wishing to take part must possess a competition licence from the BMF, and must pay a 10 BD entry fee. Registration will be done at the venue itself prior to racing.
For more information, call the Bahrain International Circuit Hotline on +973-17-450000 or visit the circuit’s website www.bahraingp.com.