Al Thawadi shines brightest in eighth round of Karting sprints

Manama, Apr. 22. (BNA) -- Abdulla Al Thawadi was the star of stars in an exciting eighth and penultimate round of the 2013/2014 Bahrain Karting Sprints Championship (BKSC), held at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir. On an evening that produced four different winners in the Bahrain Rotax Mojo Max Championship (BRMMC), Al Thawadi shone brightest, winning one race and finishing as runner-up in another while competing in the Max/Max Masters category. Louis Skalski was the other victor in the same class. Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Abdulla Beshara shared the honours in the BRMMC’s Junior Max division. The exciting weekend of karting sprints featured action in both the BRMMC and the Sodi Sprint W Series (SSWS). The BRMMC features Rotax kart owners while SSWS is an arrive-and-drive category. Mohammed Mattar showed his class and triumphed in both SSWS races of the meeting. The round was organised by Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in cooperation with BIKC, Bahrain Karting Club, Bahrain Motor Federation and Motorsport Marshals Club. Al Thawadi came away with the highest points total amongst BRMMC drivers for round eight. Second place in race one earned him 37 points, but then he scored 40 with his race two win. Al Thawadi improved to 505 points for the season as he heads into the ninth and final round in first place in the Max/Max Masters category. Skalski was almost as impressive for the day, claiming a fine victory in the opening sprint but having to settle for third in race two. Third in race one was defending champion Adeeb Kuzbar, while taking second place in race two was Najashi Rashdan. Holding second place in the championship standings was Mohammed Abdulaziz with 460 points. He was classified sixth and fifth in the two round eight races. Kuzbar was ranked third with 419 markers. In the BRMMC’s Junior Max class, Shaikh Isa and Beshara both came away with 75 points for the round. Shaikh Isa won race two ahead of runner-up Hussain Hasan, while Beshara came third. Beshara had earlier won the first sprint, finishing ahead of Hasan and Shaikh Isa. With their results, all three podium placers remained amongst the top three in the championship standings, with just one meeting left to race. Shaikh Isa has the lead with 552 points, narrowly in front of Hasan who has 519 markers. Beshara is a distant third with 427 points. Action in the SSWS was just as exciting, but only one winner came out on top in both races. Mattar was the class act amongst a highly competitive grid of 13 drivers. In race one, he was classified in front of Ali Abdulla and Mohammed Faqihi, who were second and third, respectively. Abdulla was once again in second place to finish race two, but the podium would this time be completed by Abdulla Buhindi. With his fine double, Mattar added a maximum 80 points to his championship standing, where he remained in first place with a 504 total. Abdulla is second with 484 points, followed by Buhindi in third with 443. The season’s ninth and final round is scheduled to take place on Saturday night at BIKC. All are welcome to attend the campaign’s concluding races and watch as the new champions of the year are crowned. To find out more about the upcoming final round of the BKSC, visit BIC’s official website, www.bahraingp.com, or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000. Also follow BIC’s official accounts on Facebook (facebook.com/OfficialBahrainInternationalCircuit), Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit), Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit) and YouTube (youtube.com/bahrainbic) for regular updates. W H Q