Wed, 15 Dec 2010, 09:38 AM Bahrain 1 Drag Racing Team Upbeat After Semifinal Finishes in Round 2 at QRC

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer, Active Marketing

DOHA, Qatar -- After stellar results in the season's first Arabian Drag Racing League event for the Bahrain 1 drag racing team that saw three of the four drivers in the finals and both Josh Hernandez and Khaled Mohammed claiming the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous trophies at the Qatar Race Club in Doha, Qatar, the team stumbled slightly in the second round but remains confident and positive.

In week two, Josh Hernandez and Rickie Smith (Pro Extreme) made semifinal exits as compared to both meeting in the finals the week before. Ali Aryan fought tire shake throughout qualifying and failed to make the show. Bahrain 1's lone Pro Nitrous driver, Khaled Mohammed, took the winner's trophy in first event and made a semifinal departure in round two.

Hernandez qualified No. 2 and took out Bader Ahli in the first round of eliminations, navigating the eighth-mile track in 3.683 seconds at 205.88 mph to Ahli's 3.798 seconds at 202.94 mph. In round two, Hernandez fell to J.R. Todd, 3.718 at 205.44 to Todd's quicker 3.678 at 207.05 mph. Rickie Smith dispatched Von Smith in round one, 3.693 at 201.31 mph to 4.121 at 141.19, and exited in the semifinals after losing the stripe to Frankie Taylor, 3.710 at 200.17 to Taylor's quicker 3.635 at 210.08 mph.

Josh Hernandez said, "The track has been changing a lot more than we thought it would be, so we struggled to find consistency in the second race. I'm sure we'll find the sweet spot in the next few races.

"On the run against JR, we struggled a little in the middle, and it shook just enough to bring our ET down to a 3.71. He only beat me by nine-thousandths of a second - a couple of inches - so it was a really good, really close race."

Khaled Mohammed (Pro Nitrous) faced Isaias Rojas in a tight battle in round one, taking the line in a holeshot, and lost second round in a holeshot to Ali Alkaabi, 4.074 at 188.65 to Alkaabi's slower but winning 4.095 at 182.60.

The Arabian Drag Racing League features eight events with drivers and riders in 11 classes fighting for the ADRL's championship.

The Bahrain 1 Race Team will return to the drag strip December 16-17 for round three of the eight-race season.