Manama: The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), known as 'The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East', is set to host the opening round of the 2025/2026 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC) on Friday, October 31. This event marks the beginning of the Kingdom's premier national karting championship at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC), showcasing top karters from Bahrain across different age groups and nationalities.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the competition will take place on the 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track, featuring Rotax-powered karts in five categories: Micro MAX, Mini MAX, Junior MAX, Senior MAX, and DD2 MAX. The event schedule includes free practices starting at 10:40 A.M, followed by qualifying practice at 11:17 A.M, pre-finals at 12:52 P.M, and finals commencing at 2:34 P.M. The podium ceremonies are planned for around 5 P.M, with free entry for all spectators.
A large contingent of competitors is expected for the season-opener, led by four champions from the previous BRMC season. Tariq Soofi, who won the Micro MAX title, will compete in the Mini MAX category. Last year's Mini MAX champion, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saqer Al Khalifa, is moving up to the Junior MAX class. Tye Mejia will defend his Senior MAX title, while Abdulla Sajjad aims to retain his DD2 MAX crown.
The Micro MAX class will see entries from Benjamin Karajkovic, Rashid Almahroos, Sami Ramiz Albandak, Abdulaziz Alsarraf, and Enzo Gilbert Younes. Joining Tariq in the Mini MAX division are Isaac Yoon, Alex Reilly, Faisal Alnajjar, Oliver Spencer, Leo Saruhan, Rayyan Najjar, Rhys Daulat, Saish Chinchrekar, Safron Dzeviatau, Vladimir Gugo, and Ari Kallenberg. The Junior MAX category features Shaikh Ahmed, Rayan Ghandour, Eason Tseng, Leopold Juch, Luca Saruhan, William Lette, Ryan Suckling, Sacha Rollett, and Jude Andrews.
The Senior MAX category is the largest, with competitors including Mejia, Luca Houghton, Mohammed Hilal, Mohammed Alhasan, Farhan Bin Shafeel, Yousif Alaali, Filipa Dorres, Rashid Hilal, Samy Landy, Vedant Menon, Eshaan Naraayanan, Demir Abali, Musaad Albassam, Karim Rizkallah, Ahmad Jawed, Khaled Najjar, and Griffin Mecklenburg. In the DD2 MAX, Sajjad will face off against Maxim Shchurko, Talal Alattas, Raoul Sadi, Rakan Alfayez, Abdulqader Qasem, Antoni Kugacz, Mohammed Almahroos, and Mohammed Sajjad.
The BRMC's 2025/2026 calendar features eight rounds. After this weekend's start, the second and third rounds are set for December 12 and 13. Round four kicks off the new year on January 10, followed by round five on January 30, round six on February 13, and the seventh round on March 28. The championship final is scheduled for April 18 at BIKC.