Vroom action!

Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit today hosts the third round of season seven of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East with top regional and international drivers prepared for a weekend of high-octane competition in the Middle East’s most professional racing series.

Team Bahrain’s Shaikh Jaber Al Khalifa is looking to further extend his dominance in the bronze category and secure his first podium of 2016. Over more than 10 years of Porsche racing in the Middle East, Shaikh Jaber has been a stalwart of the regional racing scene and continues to impress into 2016.

After posting his category’s fastest times in testing, Team Bahrain’s Shaikh Jaber is looking forward to getting down to business. “Testing is going very well, the track is very technical. It is an F1 track so there is a lot of slow corners and then fast straights. The last time I was here was in 2011 so it has been some time since I have actually driven on this track. Yesterday we had four practice sessions and the set-up is great and overall I am planning to maintain my place in the bronze category and setting some fast times,” he said.

Round three marks the region’s leading one-make race series’ long-awaited return to Yas Marina Circuit after three years absence and is known for its technical turns and long straights which allow for plenty of overtaking opportunities.

Regarded as the purest form of racing with all drivers competing in identical fifth generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cups, the unique one-make series consists of 12 races between November 2015 and March 2016.

The challenge is now in the UAE for three rounds in a row across January and February, closely followed by the return to Bahrain in early March which is set to be a thrilling end to season seven.