CRC Calendar 2022/2023

Event Date Circuit Conditions
Round 1 Fri, Nov 18, 2022 Oasis Day
Round 2 Fri, Jan 20, 2023 Oasis Day
Round 3 Sat, Feb 04, 2023 Oasis Day
Round 4 Sat, Feb 25, 2023 Oasis Day
Round 4 Fri, Mar 24, 2023 Oasis Night
Round 5 Fri, Apr 07, 2023 Oasis Night
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Mustafa Al Khan and Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa continued their tense battle in the Batelco 2,000cc Challenge on Friday.
The season's top two drivers each won a race in round four of the Circuit Racing Club (CRC)-organised championship, which was held at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
Al Khan, driving a Honda Civic, won race one ahead of Shaikh Hamad's elder brother Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, while Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa followed.
Shaikh Hamad, who was forced to retire from the opening event due to problems in his own Civic, bounced back in race two to take the chequered flag.
Shaikh Jaber in a Honda Integra was the runner-up, while Shaikh Salman in his Honda CRX came third. They both rounded out the weekend's activities with an impressive double podium.
Al Khan did not complete the sprint, dashing his bid to sweep the honours in the meeting.
In race one, Al Khan and Shaikh Hamad were headed for a tough fight over 15 laps as they were paired together in the front row.
Al Khan took advantage of starting from pole position and kept the lead after a heated start, and managed to defend his place in front until Shaikh Hamad was forced to retire three laps from the end.
Shaikh Hamad's unlucky break gave Shaikh Salman the chance to overtake, as did Shaikh Jaber. But they were too far, however, from Al Khan, who had built a significant lead in front before taking the victory in 19 minutes 41.896 seconds.
Shaikh Salman finished 10.664 seconds behind, while Shaikh Jaber was 11.604s off the pace.
Mohammed Saleh in a Civic was fourth, Tim Birkin in an Integra fifth, and Chris Rabie in a Renault Clio Sport sixth.
Raed Himmo (CRX), Abdulrahman Ghuloom (Civic), Osama Al Buflasa (BMW Z3 Coupe) rounded out the final classification, while joining Shaikh Hamad with a DNF was Hesham Al Othman (CRX).
In race two, Shaikh Hamad found himself starting from the very back of the grid but he gradually made his way through the field to take the win in 19:42.467. Shaikh Jaber was also pressing for the victory but could not keep up with Shaikh Hamad's pace once clear, as he came 2.626s behind for the runner-up spot.
Shaikh Salman took the final podium place in third but was nearly a minute behind his winning younger brother in 20:27.857. Birkin was fourth, Himmo fifth and Rabie in sixth place.
Ghuloom, Hamed Kuzbar in a Ford Focus 2.0 and Al Buflasa rounded out the finishers, while Al Othman and Al Khan were the non-finishers, Al Khan suffering his own technical difficulties.
The awarding ceremony of the round was attended by CRC president Mazen Al Hilli and BIC officials Sherif Al Mahdy and Elie Semaan.