CHAMPIONS CROWNED AS KARTING SPRINTS SEASON WRAPS UP

Manama, Apr27(BNA) Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) crowned this season’s karting champions on Saturday night (April 26), with Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Abdulla Al Thawadi and Mohammed Mattar all claiming their places atop their respective categories to end the 2013/2014 Bahrain Karting Sprints Championship (BKSC). The BKSC featured nine rounds of high-octane action in the Bahrain Rotax Mojo Max Championship (BRMMC) and Sodi Sprint W Series (SSWS). The BRMMC featured competitors who raced on their very own Rotax karts, while drivers in the SSWS battled it out in identical Sodikarts in arrive-and-drive events. Shaikh Isa claimed his crown in the BRMMC’s Junior Max class for the second year in a row, while Al Thawadi clinched first place in the Max/Max Masters category. Mattar, on the other hand, emerged as the newest champion of the SSWS. The BKSC season-finale was organised by BIC in cooperation with Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC), Bahrain Karting Club, Bahrain Motor Federation and Motorsport Marshals Club. All the action was held along BIKC’s world-class 1.414-kilometre CIK track. Two races took place in each competition category. In the BRMMC Junior Max class, Shaikh Isa managed to claim the title after winning the round’s second race in style.Abdulla Beshara clinched race one ahead of Hussain Hasan and Talal Beshara, while Shaikh Isa was fourth. Shaikh Isa bounced back in a big way, however, and secured his race two victory with Hasan and Talal Beshara trailing behind him. The results helped Shaikh Isa improve to 626 points for the season, which was enough to secure him the number one spot on the final finishing order in back-to-back campaigns. Hasan was second with 593 points, while Abdulla Beshara was third for the year with 501 markers. In the Max/Max Masters division, Al Thawadi claimed his championship with a dominant showing, winning both of his races. Al Thawadi stepped onto the podium for race one joined by Louis Skalski as runner-up and Mohammed Abdulaziz in third. For race two, Skalski once again finished behind the victor while last year’s champion Adeeb Kuzbar rounded out the top three. Al Thawadi enjoyed a wider gap atop the Max/Max Masters championship standings, completing the season with 585 points in all. Abdulaziz followed with 529 points and Kuzbar was third with 488 markers. The SSWS featured the largest grid for the final round but that mattered little to Mattar, who also stormed to his title win with a double victory. In race one, the seasoned karting ace took first place ahead of Khalid Al Saie with Ali Abdulla in third. Mattar then claimed the chequered flag for race two with Abdulla and Al Saie switching places in the top three. Mattar and Abdulla were in a close fight for the SSWS crown heading into the season finale and Mattar managed to secure first place by just 28 points. Mattar ended the year on 584 markers while Abdulla had 556. Abdulla Buhindi finished third overall with 507 points, having narrowly missed out on a podium place in both Saturday’s SSWS races. At the end of the round, a podium ceremony honouring all of the race winners was held. BIC Chief Executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa was on hand to hand over the trophies, along with other officials.Each of the newly crowned champions and other achievers will be honoured in a season-ending ceremony for the BKSC, to be held soon. To find out more about BKSC and its star drivers, 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. A H N