History will be made at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on Friday (October 10) when the BIC 2,000cc Challenge holds its races at night for the very first time.
The highly anticipated event will kick off the 2014/2015 season in style as the challengers will be battling each other under a state-of-the-art lighting system that brilliantly lights up BIC’s 2.55-kilometre inner track.
Friday’s meeting has been organised by BIC, "The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East", in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, Circuit Racing Club and the Motorsport Marshalls Club.
Action will get underway at 5pm with a free practice session. Qualifying will then take place at 6.10pm.
Two 15-lap races will then be held in the round. Race one is scheduled to flag off at 7.40pm, while race two begins at 9.30pm.
All are welcome to attend and watch all the action being held under floodlights. Tickets cost BD2 for adults and BD1 for children aged 12 years old and younger. They can be purchased at the gate.
"It’s going to be awesome!" exclaimed the series’ reigning champion Salah Salahuddin, who will be returning to defend his crown.
"Racing at night is something we have been looking forward to for a very long time," Salahuddin added. "I’m very excited to get into the car and start the new season."
Driving a Honda CIVIC, Salahuddin won eight of last season’s 16 races, including an impressive double in the final round, to win the title with a 66-point gap over his closest challenger, Hussain Karimi in a Honda CRX.
Both Salahuddin and Karimi are once again pencilled to be amongst the top contenders for this year’s crown.
Others who are expected to make a strong challenge are former champions Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Honda CIVIC) and Raed Himmo (Honda CRX), as well as Abdulaziz Ashkanani (Honda S2,000) and Abdulrahman Ghuloom (Honda CIVIC).
"It’s going to be a very challenging first round with some very valuable points to go for," Salahuddin said. "I’ve been working the past several days to get my car ready but it’s exactly the same as last year’s; I will see how these first two races go before deciding to make any changes."
There are six rounds in all in the 2014/2015 season of the BIC 2,000cc Challenge. Round two will be held on November 7, followed by the third meeting on December 19, which will mark the last of the calendar year.
Round four will then usher in 2015 on January 16. The season’s fifth and penultimate round is then slated for February 6, while the championship finale will be held on March 6.
Source: BNA