NorthStar aiming high after dominant season

Bahrain-based karting team NorthStar Racing wrapped up a hugely successful season this past weekend, with two of their drivers being crowned champions in the 2024-25 Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC).

NorthStar have grown from strength to strength since their inception in 2022, and are today one of the leading squads that line up on the grid at Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC) in Sakhir.

Behind the leadership and guidance of team principal Ronnie Middleton and that of team manager and coach Khalifa Al Yaqoobi, NorthStar excelled across the eight rounds of the BRMC – the kingdom’s leading national karting championship. The team produced two title winners in Tye Mejia and Tariq Soofi, while bagging no less than a dozen victories and around 20 more podium appearances from their full roster of drivers who raced in the BRMC’s various categories.

“I am absolutely delighted – the team has only been going for the last three years, and to actually achieve the success we’ve done this year, it’s simply amazing,” Middleton told the GDN.

“We started just after the pandemic, and we now have 10 or 11 drivers, including one young lady. We’re really getting to see the team come together and achieve results that I think the other more mature teams are quite envious of, so I’m absolutely thrilled.”

Mejia clinched his title in the BRMC’s Senior MAX category, winning two rounds while stepping onto the podium four other times. Mejia had also come close to securing the crown the previous season and narrowly missed out, but has now reached the summit.

“We just stayed consistent and didn’t make mistakes – that’s what separated us from the rest,” Mejia said. “We only won two races but we stayed consistent in second or third and won the championship by more than 40 points. It’s a good result.”

The Senior MAX class is the most competitive and the largest grid in the BRMC, and Mejia enjoys the challenges it brings.

“It’s very competitive, we’ve had different winners this year and anyone can get a podium or get a win,” he said. “It’s so close and getting even closer now.”

Tariq emerged as the title winner in the BRMC’s Micro MAX category. He had a dominant campaign, winning six of the season’s eight rounds while stepping onto the podium the two other times, thus securing the championship for the second year running.

“I feel very happy, and winning the title is great,” said Tariq, who is now part of the Minardi Management family. “I was doing well in the season, focusing, pushing myself, and I was also fighting my way to get P1.”

Tariq’s father, Yousif Soofi, says that Tariq came away with many valuable lessons throughout the season.

“The eight rounds went very well, it was very smooth in the first four rounds, but then we had hiccups and bumps along the way, but those taught him a lot,” Soofi explained.

“Tariq learned how to be calm and focused during good times and during bad times as well. Those bumpy moments where he was a bit off and challenged by the other drivers taught him a lot. You have to fall to be able to pick yourself up and be the winner and champion.”

Al Yaqoobi stressed on the importance of creating a strong bond within the team in order for their young drivers to reach their full potential.

“It is the first focus for us – to make sure the team is like a family,” Al Yaqoobi said. “Most of the drivers are kids, and when they come to us, we have to teach them how to work together, be like a family, and make sure that all of them are with one heart and soul.

“They work together, and if they need help or have any issues, all of them support one another.”

NorthStar team members highlight that this strong family atmosphere is a major contributor to their overall team success.

“NorthStar is a family,” said DD2 MAX competitor Raoul Sadi, who led a NorthStar one-two with teammate Oliver Kruglov in the BRMC’s season-finale last weekend. “The entire team is built by Khalifa and its owners. The mechanics all know one another, the drivers as well. I joined two years ago and the chemistry clicked immediately.

“The services they provide, building the kart, sharing the data, it’s not representable in every team the way we do it.”

Kruglov echoed Sadi’s sentiments. “I owe all my success to this team,” said Kruglov, who claimed three wins this season. “Over the years, we’ve had amazing teammates, we all support each other, help each other, and we drive to see the team succeed. It’s not individualistic – it’s a team effort.

“The mechanics are amazing every day, they are very good at what they do, they understand our feedback, and I owe everything to the team.”

Senior MAX karter Evdokiia Karpenko marked her debut campaign in the BRMC, and she credits her teammates for helping keep her inspired as she battled through “the process”.

“It’s my debut season, so obviously I’m going to make some mistakes – it’s my season for learning and it’s part of the process,” she said. Karpenko added: “I am learning from the best – Tye just won the championship and I really look up to my teammates and what they’ve accomplished, so I’m learning a lot from them, getting tips, and trying to improve myself.”

“This is a wonderful team – it’s like one nice big family,” said Gokhan Saruhan, father of karters Luca and Leo, who competed this season in the BRMC’s Mini MAX and Micro MAX classes, respectively. “Everyone supports each other – the more experienced drivers show the way for the junior ones, and the mechanics are amazing. It’s a wonderful family.”

NorthStar’s competitors enjoyed the fierce battles they engaged against one another over the course of the BRMC season.

“The grid has grown a lot,” said Luca Houghton of Victorious Motorsport of the Senior MAX class. “It’s nice that everyone is at the same pace and level now – just the true racing skills show in these races.”

Added Prof Huseyin Abali, father of Junior MAX karter Demir Abali of Praga Middle East Racing: “Competition is very high – between first and fourth, there is not even one second. It’s very tough.

“We are always excited when we watch the races, the mother cannot watch because she is too excited, especially with the overtaking. We are looking forward to next season.”

Mejia and Tareq will now be among this season’s BRMC champions who will be flying the kingdom’s flag in the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) later this year. The RMCGF is one of karting’s biggest annual meetings, bringing together hundreds of champion karters from around the world for plenty of exciting racing.

Other NorthStar karters who competed this past BRMC season included William Lette, Faisal Alnajjar, Salsh Chinchrekar, Abdulla Alkhater, and Salim Alkishen.

Al Yaqoobi expressed his thanks to NorthStar’s mechanics, including chief mechanic Christian Dave Bariquit, Jhon Mark Suba, and Vertito Sta Maria; along with Ahmed Al Yaqoobi, Fahad Khaled, and Ali Talal for their support to the team.

patrick@gdnmedia.bh