Bahrain: Mirza lifts 80-km endurance title

Posted on » Sunday, November 06, 2011



BAHRAIN Royal Endurance Team rider Jaffar Mirza yesterday won the 80-kilometre qualifying ride that kick-started the kingdom's endurance racing season at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

Mirza led the race from start to the finish, and won with a new Bahraini record time for such an event of two hours 57 minutes and five seconds. Riding Razorback, Mirza registered an average speed of 26kph.

Royal Endurance Team captain, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa yesterday honoured the top three finishers.

Rahman Zayed claimed second place with a finishing time of 3:21:00, while Mohan Singh was third overall just a second behind Zayed.

Shaikh Nasser said that Mirza's dominant victory, which came with more-than-20-minute gap, proved that Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team members continue to develop their skills, which helped in his achievement yesterday.

Happiness

Speaking of his win, Mirza expressed his happiness with his high-level performance and for setting the new record in the event. He added that it gave him a strong start to the new season, which officially got underway with yesterday's ride.

Meanwhile, Bahrain Royal and Equestrian Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa expressed his delight with Mirza's victory.

Shaikh Khalid also praised the role of Shaikh Nasser for his guidance towards the team's other riders, and also thanked him for the continued support of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and the BOC.

Fifty riders turned up for the qualifying race, which was divided into three stages of 30km, 30km and 20km.

The new endurance riding season will be full of unique rides, highlighted by His Majesty King Hamad's Ride on February 4 of next year and the 120km HRH Prince Salman Senior and Junior Championships on April 6.

Other top events will be the 100km Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Championship on December 3, the 120km National Day Senior Ride on December 24, the 120km Breef Championship on January 7 of next year, the 100km Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Senior Championship on February 18 and the 120km Season-Ending Night Ride on May 4.

Gulf Daily News