Porsche Sprint Challenge ME kicks off new season

The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is all set to kick start its 11th season this coming weekend in support of the FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. The meeting is set to feature three races, to be held Friday and Saturday (Editor’s note: December 13 and 14), with a highly competitive grid lining up at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is the region’s most professional and most successful one-make GT series. It is powered by motorsport experts Lechner Racing, headed by Austrian racing legend Walter Lechner. Featuring a new name but the same identity, the challenge gives participating drivers an equal chance to compete, as they race in identically constructed Porsche GT3 Cup cars type 991.2. The upcoming campaign features five rounds in all, to be held in Bahrain and the UAE.

The second round is set for January 24 and 25 at Dubai Autodrome, followed by round three on January 31 and February 1 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The final two rounds will be back at the series’ home track at BIC, with round four taking place on February 21 and 22 and then the season-finale being held on March 21 and 22 in support of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020.

The drivers this season once again hail from as many as a dozen different nations across four continents, including Asia, Europe, America and Africa, making for a truly international line-up. They began their preparations for the first round with a two-day pre-season test at BIC, held Sunday and Monday. The series’ “Wall of Champions” is a mix of talents coming from all across the globe.

They include last season’s winner Al Faisal Al Zubair of Oman and previous victors Ryan Cullen from Ireland, Jeffrey Schmidt from Switzerland, Zaid Ashkanani from Kuwait, Clemens Schmid from Austria, Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa from Bahrain, and the first-ever champion Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal from Saudi Arabia. The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is one of two support series during WEC weekend.

The other is the India-based single-seater championship the MRF Challenge. The FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain will be taking place alongside the BIC National Day Festival, which will be running for four days straight from Friday to Monday. The Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain will mark the fourth of eight rounds in the 2019/2020 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).