MOTORSPORT – ALI Almansoori headlined the winners in the opening round of National Race Day for the 2026/2027 season at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
Almansoori triumphed in both races of the Bahrain Touring Car Challenge (BTCC) in his Honda Civic, continuing his impressive winning streak in the series which began last season, when he took all 14 races en route to securing the championship.
National Race Day also featured Bahrain Time Attack. Emerging victorious in the various classes were Omar Adel Khuder in MA, Mazen Ahmed Dabbous in MB, Ibrahem Abdulrahman Alshareeda in SA, Ali Mohamed Alkhudair in SB, Sultan Turki Alsoud in SU, Ahmad Alshehab in ULA, and Hatem Hasan Alhazmi in ULB.
The first round of National Race Day was organised by BIC in co-operation with the Bahrain Motor Federation, the Circuit Racing Commission, and the Auto X and Drift Commission.
Moazz Elzahrawi kicked off the BTCC action by topping the practice timesheet in his Civic. Almansoori then took charge in qualifying, securing pole position for the first race of the weekend with a best lap time of one minute 16.307 seconds.
Almansoori went on to dominate race one, taking the chequered flag after 15 laps with a 48.124-second gap over runner-up Isa Ebrahim, who was also driving a Civic. Isa Mahmood, in an Acura RSX DC5, completed the podium, 59.679s behind the winner.
In fourth through ninth, respectively, were Freddie Taylor in a Volkswagen Scirocco, Hamad Khamis in a Civic, James Taylor in a BMW 135i, Andreas Buelow in an Audi TT, Ahmed Bajnaid in a Civic, and Abdulaziz Taleb in a 135i.
In race two, Almansoori completed his double, winning by 4.704s over Freddie Taylor after 15 laps. Khamis also climbed the podium, finishing third 7.724s behind the winner.
The leading trio were followed by Buelow, James Taylor, Taleb, Ebrahim, and Mahmood.
Meanwhile, the seven Bahrain Time Attack classes saw plenty of close competition.
In MA, Omar Adel Khuder took first place in his BMW M3, posting a best lap of 1:14.734 in the second and decisive heat. Fahad Abdulrahman Almulhem, in a Toyota Supra, finished second, 0.086s behind, while Abdulla Abdulaziz Alkhojah in an Audi RS3 came third 0.240s adrift.
In MB, Mazen Ahmed Dabbous won with a fastest time of 1:20.595 in his Subaru BRZ. He was 0.907s quicker than Faris Mazyed Almutari, also in a Subaru BRZ, while Amr Alsaeed Almorsi in a Toyota GR86 came third 3.808s off the pace.
Ibrahem Abdulrahman Alshareeda won the SA class in his RS3 with a best lap of 1:16.443. He beat Hazim Mohamed Alsabbagh in a BMW M2CS by 2.366s, and Hassan Abdulkareem Alzaid in a Toyota Subaru by 4.131s.
Ali Mohamed Alkhudair triumphed in SB with a quickest lap of 1:25.489 in a Toyota 86.
In SU, Sultan Turki Alsoud claimed first place with a best lap time of 1:12.651 in his Porsche GT3. Ahmed Khaled Bin Khanen, also in a GT3, finished second 0.719s behind, while Rakan Talal Suhail in a Porsche GT4 RS came third 1.694s adrift.
In ULA, Ahmad Alshehab took victory with a fastest time of 1:08.928 in his Porsche GT2-RS. He outpaced Yazeed Sameer Suheel in a Porsche GT3 RS by 0.583s, while Mohamed Abdulrahman Alshruyan, also in a GT3 RS, came third 1.805s back.
Hatem Hasan Alhazmi completed the list of Bahrain Time Attack winners by taking the ULB category. Driving a Civic, he won with a best lap of 1:18.087, beating Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Alromihi in a Toyota 86 by 1.567s. Abdulaziz Hani Saab, in another Civic, joined them on the podium in third 2.977s off the winning time.
Following the action, the winners were presented with their trophies at the awards ceremonies for the two championships.
BIC’s 2026-27 racing calendar features seven rounds of National Race Day. Round two is scheduled for this Friday, followed by round three on November 28. The campaign will resume in 2027 with round four on January 15, followed by round five on January 29. The sixth and penultimate round will take place on April 2, setting the stage for the season finale on April 16.