- Published: February 09 2009
The Batelco 2000CC Challenge saw Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa etch another victory this weekend as he stole the title in both races of the fifth round of the season.
Following a hugely successful four rounds that preceded, the weekend took a turn when the number of registered drivers from a spectacular 15 to 10 for the first time this season due to technical glitches. Several drivers faced mechanical failures including Tony Whitaker, Hamed Kuzbar and Stephen Kellogg forcing them to withdraw from the weekend’s races.
But the intensity did not stop as the weekend saw returning champion Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa put pressure back into the race when he joined the challenge in his green Honda CRX. The legend gave a very promising time during the practice laps and surprised spectators as they eagerly anticipated a nail-biting battle in both the first and second races.
Hisham Al Othman was seen pulling out of the race having faced some technical problems prior to the first race and left the grid with nine drivers to go head-to-head. Race one saw Shaikh Salman begin in a superb second place and held on tightly as Mustafa Al Khan piled on the pressure as he chased closely behind. But following problems with Shaikh Salman’s Honda CRX he left the race to finish in true fashion as Shaikh Jaber finished once again in first with a time of 15:561.57 minutes. Al Khan followed behind in second with 16:687.04 minutes as Mohammed Saleh took a respectable third with 16:08.563 minutes.
Race two began in a reverse grid format for the first four finishers of race one. With Chris Rabie starting in pole, Mohammed Saleh stood in second whilst Al Khan and Shaikh Jaber followed. Shaikh Salman was forced to start from the back from the grid.
But while Shaikh Jaber cruised in first place throughout the entire race, the action was left for Al Khan and Saleh as they battled, and even scraped cars, for second and third positions.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Salman faced more misfortune as his car spun out of control setting him back to eighth place. But no bad luck could stand in his way as the legend finished in fourth by the end of the race.
At the end of the second race Mustafa Al Khan finished in third, whilst Saleh came in a well-earned second with a time of 16:08.26 minutes and Shaikh Jaber cruised into first place once again with a time of 15:48.754 minutes. Shaikh Salman finished in fourth as Ali Al Kobaisi came in fifth and Rashid Al Jowder followed behind in sixth but Abdul Rahman Ghuloom was unable to finish the race.
More action continues on February 27 as the sixth round of the Batelco 2000CC Challenge heads to Bahrain International Circuit.