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An elite motoring club boasting the rarest and most powerful supercars in the region is giving its racing members and friends a chance to rev their engines on smaller mean machines in a grand prix-style karting event this month.
The Supercars Club Arabia Karting GP will be held over five hours at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit in Sakhir on Friday.
Around 30 drivers will be pitted against each other in practice sessions, qualifiers and then two races staged in Formula One fashion.
Auf Abdulrahman Al Delaimi, the club’s founding member and regional manager for Lamborghini and McLaren, said: “Usually we organise drives locally, regionally and globally for our exclusive membership. We arrange events and gatherings for supercar owners to enjoy their cars on public roads in a safe environment.
“None of our events are race-based and we avoid racing unless it’s on a circuit. We are excited to be hosting this event. It’s open to men and women, aged 12 and up and we are limited to 30 drivers on the circuit.”
The club first shifted into high gear two years ago when supercar enthusiast Mr Al Delaimi started organising clubs for special cars such as Lamborghini, Lotus and McLaren. It was during club events that other car collectors including Porsche and Ferrari owners wanted in on the action. Soon a universal club was formed allowing only the creme de la creme of supercars.
Mr Al Delaimi said: “We are the first official Supercars Club in the region, covering and organising events in and out of the GCC.
“It is purely for supercars and not every supercar is accepted. A lot of people weren’t happy with us for being so strict about what cars can be part of our club, but it made us more exclusive and the big boys started coming out. Basically a supercar such as a Lamborghini, Ferrari or McLaren are in but if a supercar has four doors, it’s not. We allow Aston Martins but not the four-door versions.
“We do not allow Bentleys or Rolls Royce because these brands are more luxury than supercar. We had to be very strict with which Porsches were allowed to join the club. Basically, no four doors are allowed whatsoever and then it’s down to what kind of brand and model the vehicle is.”
The club has more than 100 members from Europe and across the region, parading their glitzy roadsters – including Bugatti, Pagani and Koenigsegg – at different events.
In November, the motoring members shipped their cars from all over the Middle East to Dubai to take part in a Desert Run, driving from Dubai to Oman and back.
The three-day journey featured customised cars unlike anything enthusiasts had ever seen. There were Porsche Turbos, GT3s, Gemballa Avalanche GT650, McLaren (MP4-12cs and 650Ss and a mighty P1), Ford GT, Koenigsegg Agera, Lamborghini Gallardo (LP560s, a Valentino Balbone, a Super Trofeo Stradale, a Superleggera), Lamborghini Aventadors, Ferraris (458s, F12s, 599s, 430s, a 360 spyder), Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG Silver Arrow Edition, Audi R8 V10 and Lotus Exige S to name a few.
The club is planning an eight-day Europe Run at the end of August for 25 cars. According to Mr Al Delaimi, it will start in London and the team will drive through the best roads around Europe then returning to the English capital.
Aside from hosting drives and events, the club is heavily involved in giving back to the community. During Ramadan, the members invited more than 25 orphans from the Royal Charity Organisation to Tea Club in Amwaj Islands Lagoon, for treats, to see the supercars close up and to have a chance to chat with owners. The club members also collected and donated BD3,000 to the organisation.
The team has many exciting plans for 2015, including a new base. Mr Al Delaimi said: “We are planning our calendar to include two major events per year, one regionally and another globally along with a few other local events. We are also planning to open a café in Bahrain this year which will be the base for the club and for its members to gather. Also we have received interest for it to franchise within the region.”
To participate in the karting spectacular it is priced at BD125 per driver starting, tentatively, from 2pm onwards. The cost covers the kart, facilities and food.
For details, email info@SupercarsClubArabia.com or visit SupercarsClubArabia.com
