Sangeeth races to 5th Auto X victory

Sangeeth Muraleedharan emerged as the overall winner in round five of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) Auto X Championship. The event, held at the BIC premises in Sakhir, was a hotly contested affair and the participating roster of seven talented drivers were faced with the extra challenge of a slippery track due to dust and rain. Sangeeth captured first place at the end of the night after winning the Genesis Shootout. Sangeeth put in a superb effort of 101.346 seconds in the phase, as he pipped Ahmed Ebrahim who finished as runner-up with a time of 101.863s. Raed Himmo was classified third overall after registering a mark of 102.292s in his drive. All three participants had earlier claimed the top three spots in their preliminary round group. Competing in the Standard Class, Himmo had the fastest time of 54.138s in his 2012 Porsche Boxster. Ebrahim followed with a 56.855s time in his Mitsubishi Evo, while Sangeeth was third in 101.854s in his Mazda 3. Faisal Khalid driving a Subaru Impreza finished in fourth place with a time of 102.762s, while Manali in a Porsche 4S was disqualified for cutting parts of the course. The competition’s opening stage also featured a Super Pro class, won by Julias Jodele in a Lotus Excige. Jodele registered a mark of 58.158s to claim first place, while Yasser in a Caterham LS1 was disqualified after he too was deemed to have cut parts of the course. At the end of the event, medals were handed out to the winners. Ebrahim came away with a special prize having been named Driver of the Night with his impressive performance in his Mitsubishi Evo. Action in the BIC Auto X Championship resumes with the 2012/2013 season’s sixth round on January 17 – the first event of the new calendar year. The seventh and penultimate meeting is then scheduled to take place on February 15, followed by the finale scheduled for May 3.