Young Bahraini drivers delighted with GP3 season

Manama : Bahrain’s homegrown talents, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa expressed their satisfaction for a successful season following the concluding race of the 12-race six-round series of the Eighth GP3 Porsche Cup Challenge Middle East. The race concluded on Sunday as a support event to the Formula 1 Gulf Air Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

Every driver in every category had a reason to push for points in the final race including the Bronze category, again showing the competitive nature of the championship. Team Bahrain’s Shaikh Isa Salman finished second in the bronze category and second in the GCC Rookie Category, just ahead of teammate Shaikh Isa Abdulla who was the third placed rookie.

It was an outstanding debut season for the young Shaikh Isa Salman with two successful races at the Bahrain Grand Prix and an impressive season which has seen the talented Bahraini driver continue to improve with each race and really contest with some of the more experienced drivers in the championship.

Speaking after an exciting weekend of racing, Shaikh Isa Salman said, “I had a great final race and really pleased with my performance overall this weekend. All season I have been pushing hard to get as close as I can to the guys at the front and I think today showed that.

I had an early battle with Philipp Sager, there were a few touches on the tight corners but we managed to keep it clean. I managed to get past him on the second lap with a good move and pushed on from there.”

He further added, “I finished fifth overall which is the highest I’ve finished all season, it really has been a dream come true to get this sort of result during the Formula One weekend and also in my home country of Bahrain. Next season I’m hoping to come back even stronger and continue to progress in my racing career.”

Teammate and close friend Shaikh Isa Abdulla also finished his first full season in the championship with a clean and professional drive, securing a third place position in the new Porsche GCC Rookie competition.

After the race, Shaikh Isa Abdulla said, “The final race went very well and I wanted to keep it as clean as possible and finish the season on a high. I thought about trying to pull some risky moves late on but I knew it wouldn’t be worth it as my main goal was to finish in a strong position and drive an accident free race.

“I’m hoping to continue racing throughout the summer, I’m not sure where yet but I have learnt so much this season and want to continue to build on this. I’m planning to be back next season, my studies will also be important but I want to make sure I get time to race and continue to progress my racing career. I’m sad the season is over, it’s been a great experience but I’m sure it won’t be too long until I’m back in the car again.”

Ireland’s Ryan Cullen won his eighth of 12 races in the series held over six rounds split between Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and secured his first overall title in the eighth edition of the event and winning the Gold category as well.

Afterwards, Cullen said, “I sealed the championship after Race 1 but it feels so good to finish the season with a win. There was less pressure today and I wanted to be able to go out and enjoy myself. I didn’t have the best of starts but after turn one I managed to keep the pressure on both Dylan Pereira and Charlie Frijns in front of me.

I waited patiently as I didn’t want to do anything too silly but as soon as I saw my opportunity I made a move and managed to overtake both cars at the same time.

“It’s been a special weekend for me as I started the championship last November in Bahrain with a win and now I’ve finished on the top step again 5 months later. I’m going away from the Middle East with huge confidence and will be looking to make the most of this form in Europe this summer.”