Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Four speed-loving boys have been chosen as this year's V8 Junior Ambassadors and are in for a whirlwind of fun. The Desert 400 V8 Supercar Race will take off on November 6-8 and will be jam packed with thrilling action and tons of family fun.
Lucky winners, Australian twins Chris and Aaron Beaty and Aussie-Bahraini best mates Mahdi Fadhul and Jad Al Eskafi, from Al Nadeen School, are eagerly waiting for the big day to arrive.
Eight-year-old Mahdi from A'ali is very excited about the V8 and more so about sharing every moment of it with his best friend Jad - both boys have Australian mums and Bahraini dads.
Mahdi said: "I enjoyed my time last year so I think it will be even more fun this year. My favourite driver is Craig Lowndes and his partner. Even though Jad and I support different drivers, no matter who wins we will still be best friends."
Jad, also eight, from Janabiya, said: "I thought it would be really fun and that I would get to meet the drivers including my favourite, Mark Winterbottom. I hope Mark takes me in the car for a spin."
Mahdi's mum, Joanne, owner of The Good Life Gallery and CafŽ, was even more excited for the best buds. She said: "Tracy and I had talked to our sons about becoming V8 Ambassadors and encouraged them to do so. We are very proud of them and you can see how excited they are. My favourite drivers are Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife because they are both good with the children."
Tracy Al Eskafi, an English teacher at the Japanese school, said: "When the kids said they would love to do the job Joanne and I were all for it. They wanted to be ambassadors because they both love the teams and would love to meet some of the drivers. Plus they love coming down to the BIC so it is a win-win situation.
"I am very excited about the V8 and more excited to see the kids do it together. We have attended all of the V8 events and are looking forward to this one."
The Australian Beaty twins go to St Christopher's School and can't wait to cheer on their favourite drivers and meet them at the paddock.
Ten-year-old Aaron, from Saar, said: "I hope to meet Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife. Chris and I can't wait for race day to come."
Twin brother Chris said: "I am hoping Garth Tander wins because he is my favourite race car driver. I am very excited about meeting him. I also like Garth Tander because he drives for Holden and my dad has always driven a Holden. I would love to get in the car and even drive it if they give me a chance to."
Their air traffic controller dad, Calvin, explained that although they are newcomers to the kingdom, they are truly enjoying themselves and he is delighted for his boys.
He said: "We came across the competition when reading the GulfWeekly and when the kids got a hold of it they got really excited. Christopher got on the computer right away and started typing up why he should be a V8 Junior Ambassador and then Aaron followed in pursuit.
"I have always been a Holden fan as I had a Holden in Australia so this is great event for me and the kids. I like the sound of the cars and the thrill of the race. Hopefully the boys will get a chance to ride in the cars and go for a spin."
Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) senior marketing and PR manager Samer Al Shaikh told GulfWeekly that everyone at the circuit is extremely excited about the V8 and thrilled at how much the fan base has grown over the past couple of years.
He said: "It's really exciting that we managed to get this fan base in such a short period, this makes us want to push the envelope a little bit further to succeed even more than last year if possible.
"The junior ambassadors are great. I was just chatting with them and they know a lot about V8 and not just about the race in Bahrain but also on a world base. Their personalities are fun, they are talkative and, surprisingly, they know a lot about the cars. Some of them even know a lot about the engines.
"It was really interesting to chat with them especially as I didn't expect such young boys to know so much about V8. I was very impressed. These kids are amazing and it really motivates us to push the family entertainment segment even harder because we feel this race can be bigger every year."
The programme set for the ambassadors is a special one. Al Shaikh said that they will really enjoy their time as they will meet drivers and get to spend time at the paddock area, which will be open for everyone to enjoy so it's not like any other race.
