Manama : Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, staged an exciting and action-packed season-opening round of the 2026/2027 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC) over the weekend.
Racing in the Kingdom’s leading national karting championship took place under lights at BIC’s world-class grassroots motor racing facility, Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC), with three of the BRMC’s returning champions securing victories in the five competition categories.
They included last season’s Mini MAX title winner Rayyan Najjar who triumphed in the higher-tier Junior MAX class, defending Senior MAX champion Demir Abali, and defending DD2 MAX title winner Rakan Alfayez.
Also climbing the top step of their respective podiums were Sami Albandak in the Micro MAX division and Abdulaziz Alsarraf in the Mini MAX.
The BRMC’s curtain-raising event was organised by BIC and BIKC in cooperation with the Bahrain Motor Federation and the Bahrain Karting Commission.
The high-octane, wheel-to-wheel battles took place along BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track, with the competitors going all out in their very own Rotax-powered machinery.
In the Micro MAX category, Sami Albandak led in all of the round’s sessions, from free practice and qualifying practice to the heat and pre-final. He then took the chequered flag in the nine-lap final in a total time of 9mins 20.734secs, finishing 14.192secs ahead of runner-up Henry Toon.
In the Mini MAX class, last season’s Micro MAX champion Enzo Younes got off to a strong start by topping the free practice timesheet, but Abdulaziz Alsarraf then took charge the rest of the way. Abdulaziz claimed first place in qualifying practice, the heat, and the pre-final, before winning the nine-lap final in 8mins 56.961secs, beating Enzo by a narrow 0.614s. Liam Boyd joined them on the podium in third place 0.739s from Abdulaziz.
The Junior MAX division saw three different drivers top the first three sessions before Rayyan Najjar powered to victory in the pre-final and final.
Abdulrahman Mohamed was the pace-setter in free practice and then Faisal Alnajjar topped the qualifying practice timesheet. Bader Faisal was then triumphant in the heat ahead of Rayyan, who then claimed the pre-final just 0.300s ahead of Abdulrahman. Rayyan later took the chequered flag in the final after a tightly contested 15 laps, winning in 13mins 56.409secs – 0.494s ahead of Faisal. Abdulrahman finished third only 0.989s back.
Demir Abali lived up to his billing as reigning Senior MAX champion after fending off his closest rivals for the win in class. Luca Houghton was the early aggressor, leading the BRMC’s largest field in both free practice and qualifying practice. But Abali shone brightest when it mattered most, winning the heat ahead of Houghton and the pre-final in front of Jude Andrews. Abali then rode his momentum into the 15-lap final, where he took the win in 13mins 31.674secs and enjoyed a comfortable 3.771s gap from runner-up Vedant Menon. Khaled Najjar completed the podium placers in third 5.676s from the winner.
Rakan Alfayez completed the BRMC’s winning cast in round one in the DD2 MAX category. Leopold Juch kicked things off by topping the times in free practice, but then Alfayez took control from there, setting the pace in qualifying practice and then winning the heat and the pre-final. In the final, Alfayez overcame a spirited challenge from Juch, whom he beat to the chequered flag with a winning time of 13mins 20.798secs after 15 laps. Juch crossed the finish line 0.829s behind, while Suliman Alrubaya was third on the classification a distant 17.748s back.
Following all the action, the winners in each of the BRMC’s categories were presented their respective trophies during the podium ceremonies at BIKC.
The championship’s 2026/2027 calendar features a total of eight events, culminating in February of next year.
The karters return to action in round two on October 23, to be followed by round three on November 20. Rounds four and five will then take place on back-to-back weekends on December 4 and 11, marking the final action of the calendar year.
Action then resumes in 2027 with rounds six and seven on January 8 and 16, respectively, setting the stage for the championship finale on February 5.
More information on the BRMC or other events and activities at BIC or BIKC is available on bahraingp.com, BIC Hotline on +973-17450000, or the circuit’s official social media channels.
