KARIMI POWERS TO FINE DOUBLE IN 2,000CC CHALLENGE
BIC, Sakhir -- Hussain Karimi clinched a fine double in the fourth round of the 2013/2014 BIC 2,000cc Challenge, held Friday (January 17) at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
Driving a Honda CRX, Karimi looked determined to start the new calendar year on a high and came away with his third and fourth victories of the season.
Defending champion Raed Himmo in a Honda CRX was also hoping to excel. He started the day as the man to beat, topping the timesheet in free practice with a best lap of 1min 20.296secs.
Himmo later improved his pace to claim pole position for the meeting's first race, registering a 1min 19.744secs lap in qualifying. Karimi secured the starting position right next to the pole-sitter on row one, while behind them were Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Honda CIVIC), Abdulrahman Ghuloom (CIVIC), Alex Longden (BMW), Salah Salahuddin (CIVIC) and Abdulaziz Ashkanani (Honda S2000) in third through seventh, respectively.
It was all downhill for Himmo from there, however, as Karimi took over as the race leader early on and then built a comfortable gap in front through the 15-lap sprint.
He came home in a winning time of 20mins 51.014secs, enjoying a 7.526secs gap ahead of Longden, who managed to move up to the runner-up spot.
Salahuddin was classified third and Ashkanani was fourth as they were the only other finishers.
Shaikh Hamad, Himmo and Ghuloom were all not classified. All three had dropped out of the race at different moments due to car trouble.
Race two featured a much smaller grid as those who did not finish the opening event could not get their challengers repaired in time for the second go-around.
Karimi made the most of his opportunity and once again put his head down to power to another solo win in 20mins 43.007secs.
Longden and Salahuddin trailed behind to form the same podium. Longden finished 5.552secs behind Karimi, while Salahuddin was around two laps back.
Ashkanani was not classified after dropping out of the running after just four laps.
With the round's results, Karimi's impressive double helped him extend his lead on the championship standings as the season now heads into its latter half.
Action resumes with the fifth round on February 7. Round six will then be held on March 28, followed by the seventh and penultimate round on Aril 18.
The grand finale will follow on May 2.
For more information on the BIC 2,000cc Challenge or other activities at BIC, "The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East", call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.
BIC, Sakhir -- Hussain Karimi clinched a fine double in the fourth round of the 2013/2014 BIC 2,000cc Challenge, held Friday (January 17) at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
Driving a Honda CRX, Karimi looked determined to start the new calendar year on a high and came away with his third and fourth victories of the season.
Defending champion Raed Himmo in a Honda CRX was also hoping to excel. He started the day as the man to beat, topping the timesheet in free practice with a best lap of 1min 20.296secs.
Himmo later improved his pace to claim pole position for the meeting's first race, registering a 1min 19.744secs lap in qualifying. Karimi secured the starting position right next to the pole-sitter on row one, while behind them were Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Honda CIVIC), Abdulrahman Ghuloom (CIVIC), Alex Longden (BMW), Salah Salahuddin (CIVIC) and Abdulaziz Ashkanani (Honda S2000) in third through seventh, respectively.
It was all downhill for Himmo from there, however, as Karimi took over as the race leader early on and then built a comfortable gap in front through the 15-lap sprint.
He came home in a winning time of 20mins 51.014secs, enjoying a 7.526secs gap ahead of Longden, who managed to move up to the runner-up spot.
Salahuddin was classified third and Ashkanani was fourth as they were the only other finishers.
Shaikh Hamad, Himmo and Ghuloom were all not classified. All three had dropped out of the race at different moments due to car trouble.
Race two featured a much smaller grid as those who did not finish the opening event could not get their challengers repaired in time for the second go-around.
Karimi made the most of his opportunity and once again put his head down to power to another solo win in 20mins 43.007secs.
Longden and Salahuddin trailed behind to form the same podium. Longden finished 5.552secs behind Karimi, while Salahuddin was around two laps back.
Ashkanani was not classified after dropping out of the running after just four laps.
With the round's results, Karimi's impressive double helped him extend his lead on the championship standings as the season now heads into its latter half.
Action resumes with the fifth round on February 7. Round six will then be held on March 28, followed by the seventh and penultimate round on Aril 18.
The grand finale will follow on May 2.
For more information on the BIC 2,000cc Challenge or other activities at BIC, "The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East", call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.
No comments:
Post a Comment