Red Lights don’t mean ‘stop’ for B1 Racing

Courtesy of B1 Racing

DOHA, Qatar  – Despite disappointing red-light starts in the Arabian Drag Racing League’s Battle for the Belts by both of B1 Racing’s entries, the future is all green for the veteran-laced Pro Mod team from Bahrain. Given the state of current world politics and unrest, the question of continuing racing has crossed the minds of the team members and fans alike – but, according to Pro Extreme driver Josh Hernandez, the future is bright.

“Of course, we are all concerned about the politics in Bahrain, but everyone I have talked with has assured me that the events are not as bad as the American and world media paints it to be. It’s the nature of news. The Crown Prince is working through things, and everyone has confidence that it will all work out,” Hernandez said.

“As far as the Battle for the Belts – it just wasn’t meant to be for us,” he said.

Both Hernandez and Pro Nitrous driver Khalid Mohammed had disappointing outings in their championship battles. After running very well in testing, Hernandez faced off against his former teammate, Von Smith, in the opening salvo of the Pro Extreme Battle. With a great tune-up and an eye to win, Hernandez was ready. Too ready. His reaction was .001 seconds before the green light, handing the race to eventual Belt winner, Smith, before it started.

For Mr. Mohammed, it was the same song, just a different verse. Having qualified No. 3 for the Battle, he was paired with Ali Alkaabi in the Pro Nitrous opener. His stout 3.838-second pass against Alkaabi’s 4.413-second effort was wasted, however, because Mr. Mohammed left the starting line.024-seconds early, losing before the race even started.

Mr. Mohammed said, “It is disappointing because Pat Musi and Rick Hickman had our car tuned and ready to win. I let them down, but I’ll work hard to make it up in the next series we race.”

Hernandez added, “Losing like that in the first round has made all of us that much more anxious for a win. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the best equipment, now, we just need to put it together. I’m sure we will, and I’ll be glad when that day comes.”

Next on the schedule for Hernandez is the US-based ADRL’s opener March 25-26 in his hometown of Houston. The schedule is yet to be defined for Aryan and Mr. Mohammed.