It will be held in support of the headlining GP2 Series, which will be racing in Sakhir for the second successive week.
GP2 recently held its second round of the 2012 season as part of this year’s Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. It is now set for the back-end of its double header and more exciting thrills from Formula One’s leading feeder category are expected.
But while GP2 will be the feature attraction, the BIC 2,000cc Challenge will be just as entertaining for race fans.
The 2,000cc championship is one of the leading Bahrain-bred categories. It is now being run by the Circuit Racing Club, which is under the Bahrain Motor Federation, and in cooperation with BIC.
Stephen Kellogg has been dominant all season long and has been running away with the Drivers’ Championship, which he has virtually already secured.
Kellogg has scored 281 points heading into the upcoming championship finale. He currently boasts a 56-point lead ahead of his closest rival, Tim Birkin, with just two races to go.
In the season’s previous meeting held in February as part of the National Racing Festival at Bahrain International Circuit, Kellogg claimed a fantastic double, fighting his way through the field in both races to claim the chequered flag each time.
It was his fifth double of the season, earning him wins number nine and 10 out of 12 races. Driving a Honda CIVIC, Kellogg wants to end the year on a high and will be going all out to claim another two wins to cap a memorable year.
Others set to compete alongside Kellogg in round seven are defending champion Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (CIVIC), which has only raced in a few events this season. Others are Raed Himmo (Honda CRX), Hisham Al Othman (CRX), Birkin (Honda Integra), Ahmed Kuzbar (Ford Focus 2.0), Hussain Karimi (CRX), Alex Longden (BMW 3 Series), Hamed Kuzbar (Ford Focus 2.0), Abdulla Al Jowder (CIVIC), Abdulrahman Ghuloom (CIVIC) and Salah Salahuddin (CIVIC).
Action on Friday it began at 9am with a 2,000cc practice session, followed by 10am by GP2 practices. At 11.30am it was GP2 qualifying will begin, and then at 1pm was qualifying for the 2,000cc. GP2’s feature race, over 32 laps or a total time of 60 minutes, will then flag off at 4pm.
On Saturday, the first race of 2,000cc will kick things off at 11am. GP2’s 23-lap sprint race will follow at 2pm, while 2,000cc’s second race will start at 3.30pm.
Tickets to the upcoming GP2 weekend are available at the BIC gate. They cost BD10 for both days, while children aged 12 years old and under can get in for free.
Apart from all the racing thrills, there will also be plenty of off-the-track entertainment that will keep the entire family busy.