BIC, Sakhir, Sunday 10th March – Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosted its first-ever 24-hour karting race over the weekend, and it was regional powerhouses Batelco Racing Team who emerged victorious.

Taking place at BIC’s world-class VIVA Karting Track in Sakhir, the highly anticipated event featured 12 teams from all across the Kingdom, many of whom comprised some of Bahrain’s best racing talent who charged onto their respective Sodi RX7 270cc karts for the start on Friday afternoon.

Their prowess was in full display in the grueling endurance challenge, which required the right combination of skill, determination, fitness, mental toughness and teamwork to succeed.

Once the chequered flag had fallen a full day later on Saturday, Batelco Racing stood head and shoulders above the rest.

The victors, comprising Mohammed Mattar, Alvan Varuttii, Ramez Azzam, Khaled Al Saei, Ali Basilar and Abdulla Buhindi, secured first place with an impressive total of 1,103 laps.

With their victory, the Batelco karters have earned a fantastic grand prize of a free entry in the 24-hour race of Paris, which is to be held on April 27 and 28 at Kart de Cormeilles.

Despite their big win, it wasn’t smooth-sailing for the winners as most had expected.

The Circuit Racing Club (CRC) team put in a tough fight and finished just one lap short of matching their rivals at the end of the 24-hour period. The runners-up did well to push Batelco to the maximum, but in the end had to settle for the second step on the podium.

The top two finished well above the rest of the field, and just like how it was in the front, a tight battled brewed for the number three spot with three teams being separated by just four laps.

Toyota Team eventually managed to claim the final podium place with a total of 1,086 laps. The BIC Team were a close fourth, finishing just one lap behind with a 1,085 total.

Gulf Cable claimed fifth with 1,083 laps to their account.

Over Taking Racing Team rounded out the top six. They too came close to a top three finish, completing 1,081 laps during the event.

In seventh were Q8 Racing with 1,079 laps, while Mc Shanabz were eighth with 1,078 laps. Racing Falcons finished in ninth place with 1,064 laps, and SRAK were 10th with 1,040 laps.

Hidd Power Company claimed 11th position with a total of 1,031 laps, and completing the final race classification were PWC, who managed to register 1,024 laps in the 24-hour challenge.

At the end of the event, the victors were presented their respective trophies, medals and other prizes by Sherif Al Mahdy, Commercial Director at BIC, in the presence of other officials.

The challenge was organised by BIC and VIVA Karting Track in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain Karting Club.