Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
THE very first motorcycle racing event to take place in the kingdom made motorsport history when 19 international teams competed in the Bahrain 6-Hour Bike Festival at the weekend.
Supported by a full crowd of racing enthusiasts, the endurance event witnessed 168 laps of spectacular two-wheel racing, with RMT 21 Racing Team blistering across the finish line in first place in the Endurance World Championship (EWC) category and the Qatar Endurance Racing Team (QERT) clinching the top spot in the Super Stock (SKT) category.
The event was organised by Bahrain Motor Federation in collaboration with Bahrain International Circuit.
In the STK category, it was QERT's superior driving that boosted the team ahead of the other seven competitors to claim victory, completing 166 laps in six hours. Team Endurance Moto 45 trailed the leaders by 1 lap, crossing the finish line in second place, while Andalucia BMW's impressive performance resulted in a third place finish.
Nasser Al Malki, team driver for QERT, said: "It has been an absolute pleasure to participate in the very first motorcycle race to take place in Bahrain and it is a very important development for regional racing. We hope to see the BIC on the World Endurance Championship circuit next year alongside Qatar.
"We are extremely pleased with our first place finish in the STK category - we even beat most of the EWC team timings! From the go we remained focused and tried to make each lap count.
"The track itself is very competitive with some challenging corners that require a combination of hard braking and following the line within inches with no room for error if you are going to achieve a good lap time.
"The atmosphere at the circuit was extremely friendly and there was a great sense of camaraderie between the Qatar teams and organisations and their Bahraini counterparts."
Bahrain's own competition team, the BMC Racing Team, finished sixth in the STK category. The team, consisting of Omran M Al Sayed, Hussain Al Kooheji and Ali Khalaf, overcame an accident early on in the race which dropped the squad to last place, but a determined and focused effort saw the local drivers fight back to reclaim two positions.
Al Sayed, who began the race for the BMC Racing Team, said: "We achieved a good position today, especially considering we used a new bike - the Suzuki GSXR 1000 - and we are very happy to have completed the full six hours of the race. The BIC track presented a variety of challenges to all the drivers and everyone dealt with them using strategies they saw fit, some with more success than others! The turns were particularly difficult and you need to consider the mechanical state of the bike when it is constantly being pushed to its limit."
While eight teams pulled up to the starting line in the powerful EWC category, it was a day wrought with mechanical failure, as only five teams completed the six hour endurance race.
Monster Yamaha Austria was quick to establish a dominant two-minute lead due to Steve Martin's performance, but a deterioration of their Yamaha R1's braking system forced the team to retire early.
RMT 21 Racing Team was quick to fill the top spot and maintained their position at the front of the pack for the remainder of the race to clinch victory in the EWC category. They were followed by Ymes Folch Endurance who trailed the leaders by one lap. Motobox Kremer Shell claimed the third step on the podium after completing 163 laps.
RMT 21 Racing Team rider Viktor Kispataki said: "The track took some getting used to as it has some very challenging turns, but once we found our strategy our lap timing improved dramatically. The third corner is particularly hard as you need to put a lot of pressure on the brakes to complete it, especially as it follows a particularly long straight section.
"We had some minor issues with wear and tear on the tyres, but it was nothing we couldn't deal with. Once Monster Yamaha Austria pulled out of the race, we knew we had to maintain our lead for the remaining laps, and that's exactly what we did."
The Monster Yamaha Austria team, however, remained upbeat. Rider Martin said: "Overall I'm disappointed we didn't complete the race especially as we had such a great start, but we were dealing with new specifications and did not have enough time to optimise them."
Off the track, a variety of entertainment was staged around the BIC to keep fans and families enthralled between races.
RESULTS
EWC Category
Pos Team Vehicle Laps
1 RMT 21 Racing Honda CBR 1000 RR 168
2 Ymes Folch Endurance Yahama R1 167
3 Motobox Kremer Shell Sukuzi GSXR 1000 163
4 FMA Assurances Honda CBR 1000 RR 162
5 SH Technologie Yamaha R1 159
6 Team R2CL Suzuki GSXR 1000 -
7 Bolliger Team Switzerland Kawasaki ZX10 R -
8 Monster Yamaha Austria Yamaha R1 -
STK Category
Pos Team Vehicle Laps
1 QERT Suzuki GSXR 1000 166
2 Endurance Moto 45 Suzuki GSXR 1000 165
3 Andalucia BMW BMW S 1000 RR 161
4 Cordoba Patrimonio Kawasaki ZX10 R 161
5 Serbian Racing Team Suzuki GSXR 1000 159
6 BMC Racing Team Suzuki GSXR 1000 158
7 Bi- Meca Racing Team Suzuki GSXR 1000 147
8 QERT 2 Suzuki GSXR 1000 -
