Porsche to launch Middle East race series in Bahrain on Friday
Event expected to attract region's promising young drivers
Dubai: The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, an exciting new one-make motor racing series attracting some of the region's most promising young drivers, will be launched in Bahrain at the weekend.
The 12-round series makes its debut at Bahrain International Circuit this Friday and Saturday (December 11 and 12) in the first of six big race weekends, with action to follow over the next four months at Abu Dhabi's spectacular new Yas Marina Circuit and the Reem International Circuit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Designed to identify top Arab and local-based talent in the Middle East and become a platform for entry into the world of international GT and sports car racing, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is a new regional version of the GT3 Cup one-make series already running with huge success in Brazil, New Zealand and the US.
Sponsored by Michelin and Mobil 1, the new race series is organised and managed by Austrian-based Lechner Racing on behalf of Porsche Middle East & Africa. The 13-strong line-up for the first two rounds in Bahrain at the weekend includes Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdul Aziz Al Faisal, his cousin Prince Khalid Al Faisal and Bahrain's Shaikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, all very experienced campaigners.
Prince Abdul Aziz has contested seven rounds of this year's Porsche Supercup and scored a top ten finish in Hungary, while Prince Khalid was a race winner in the Supercars Middle East Championship event supporting last month's Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.
