Spectacular support races at F1 weekend at Bahrain international circuit

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A fantastic programme of world-class support races will keep the action going all throughout the weekend at the upcoming Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

“The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” hosts the Kingdom’s biggest sporting and entertainment extravaganza this Friday to Sunday, and joining F1 on track will be the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East—making for a fantastic show of non-stop racing.

F2 and F3 will be holding the opening rounds of their respective 2022 seasons in Bahrain, while the Porsche Sprint Challenge will be staging the finale of its 2021/2022 campaign.

Each series will have two races during the Grand Prix weekend, along with practices and qualifying.

Fans will be able to see the future stars of F1 competing in F2 and F3, with this being the first time BIC is hosting a championship round in the F3 season.

Meanwhile, the new champion of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East will be crowned in Bahrain, highlighting the very best of regional motorsport in a series that was born and bred at the Kingdom’s home track.

The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a one-make series consisting of 22 identical cars from 11 teams.

It is the chief feeder-series to F1, with many drivers having graduated from F2 and now starring in the top flight, such as Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, George Russell of Mercedes, Lando Norris of McLaren, Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi of Williams, Mick Schumacher of Haas, Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, and Alfa Romeo rookie Guanyu Zhou.

Bahrain will be the first of 13 rounds this F2 season.

The FIA Formula 3 Championship is also a one-make category with 30 identical cars on the grid from 10 teams.

Many of the F2 outfits are also competing in F3, which is the official third rung of the “Road to F1” ladder.

There are nine rounds on F3’s 2022 calendar, with Bahrain kicking things off.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is the leading one-make championship in the region.

Launched in 2009, it features talented drivers from all across the Middle East and beyond, competing in powerful and dynamic Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.

The series was established in Bahrain and continues to be based at BIC, launched in cooperation with Austrian motorsport legend, the Late Walter Lechner.

The championship was created to give the region’s home-grown driving talent an opportunity to realise their racing potential, and it has become popular for drivers and fans alike.

The upcoming round will be it's fifth of the 2021/2022 season, with races already being held at BIC for round one, in Jeddah for round two, and at Dubai and Abu Dhabi for rounds three and four, respectively. The F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 is set to be a once-in-a-generation event, following the introduction of sweeping new regulations and the huge design evolution of the F1 cars.

Fans in the Kingdom will have the privilege of being the first in the world to experience the pinnacle of motorsport like it was never before seen.

Tickets to the race weekend can be purchased online at BIC’s official website bahraingp.com, by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000, at the BIC stand in City Centre Bahrain or at the sales tent located at Sakhir Petrol Station en route to the circuit.

Ticket discounts are available for children aged three to 12 years old at 50 per cent off, with reductions also available for students, those with special needs and senior citizens.