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The kingdom’s finest racers celebrated both on and off the track this week as championships came to a thrilling close at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) while winners were rewarded with silverware during a glitzy ceremony.
On Friday, Tim Birkin clinched the BIC 2,000cc Challenge title in style, taking both a podium and a victory in the season’s seventh and final round, held at a brilliantly floodlit track in Sakhir.
The Briton headed into the meeting as the championship leader and was heavily-favoured to come away with the crown. Only one other driver still had a mathematical chance of stealing away the championship, but chief rival Mohamed Faqihi had an unlucky finale.
Birkin said: “I now know why Nico Rosberg resigned after winning the Formula One world title; I’ve just been a nervous wreck, worrying about everything and anything possibly breaking down.
“The first race was really nerve-wracking. In the second race, I could let my hair down and go for it. Luckily, I came out in first place, which is a nice way to round off the season.”
Birkin has captured the maiden 2,000cc title of his career. The Abu Dhabi resident first made his debut in the BIC-based series in the 2008/2009 season, and has since consistently been one of championship frontrunners. He had previously come close to winning the crown twice in the past, namely in the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 campaigns.
He explained: “This is a fantastic family in the Circuit Racing Club (CRC), where all the drivers are so friendly … there’s no wonder why it’s the longest-running championship in the region, it’s such a good one.”
Raed Himmo, driving a Honda CIVIC, topped qualifying to take the leading grid position in race one alongside Faqihi, who was also driving a CIVIC. Lee Stones in a BMW 3 Series/F20C started from third and Birkin, in a Honda Integra, was in fourth place.
Faqihi managed to gain the lead early on in the race, but after just four laps, he was forced to pull off to the side of the track with car trouble. He eventually retired from the 12-lap sprint.
Himmo went on to regain the lead and hold on to it until the chequered flag. He won in a total time of 16 minutes 29.038 seconds. Race ace Stones, a popular rugby coach, followed as the runner-up 5.507 seconds behind, while Birkin finished third 20.878s back. With his race one result, Birkin had already locked up the championship.
In race two, Birkin started from fourth and Martyna was on pole. It didn’t take long before Birkin was in front. He finished the 12-lap event in 16:27.988. Birkin managed to beat Stones by just 0.271s at the end, while Himmo claimed third place 29.169s back.
Birkin ended the 2,000cc season with 223 points followed by Himmo with 173 points. Martyna was ranked third on 164, while Faqihi went to fourth place with 164 points.
On Sunday evening, a swanky awards ceremony was staged in the circuit’s paddock to reward the winners of the 2,000cc Challenge and the various Bahrain Karting Championships
Birkin, Himmo and Martyna all took home their overall classification trophies, as did the top three in the various karting series, as reported in GulfWeekly last week.
Chief of these was Khaled Alsaei, who was crowned the MAX category champion in the Bahrain Rotax Mojo Max Challenge (BRMMC) following the narrowest of victories. He clinched the title just two points ahead of Hussain Hassan, with Mohammed Mattar following in third.
Taking home the first place trophy in other classes, Talal Beshara was champion of the BRMMC’s Junior Max category, Anthony Genocchio was victorious in the BRMMC’s Max Masters, and Rashid Almuammari took home the prize in the Bahrain Sodi Sprint Championship (SSWS).
