Porsche Carrera Cup set for WEC action

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An exciting season is on the cards in the 2023/2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East (PCCME), the region’s leading one-make series featuring talented drivers from all over the world.

The PCCME flags off its new campaign in support of the highly anticipated Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, taking place in just over a week’s time at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

Formerly known as the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East, the PCCME pits its roster of competitors against one another in identical 510hp Porsche 992 GT3 Cup cars.

Races are held at top tracks across the Gulf, highlighted by BIC in Sakhir and including Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit in the UAE, as well as Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia.

The PCCME’s 2023/2024 calendar features six rounds, kicking off with the championship-opener as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) weekend on 3 and 4 November.

Tickets to the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain remain available and fans are urged to purchase theirs as soon as possible so as not to miss out on the special occasion taking place next weekend at BIC.

Tickets cost just BD5.500 for adults and BD2.750 for kids for the two-day weekend programme.

In preparation for the start of the new PCCME campaign, an official pre-season test will take place this weekend at BIC. On Saturday, one 120-minute session and another 100-minute session will be held in the late afternoon along the 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

Then, on Sunday, participants will be able to test over two 120-minute sessions.

Round one at this year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will feature two PCCME races, one on each day of the WEC event.

The season-opener will be followed by round two, to be held once again in the Kingdom on 15 and 16 December.

The third round will then take place in Dubai on 20 and 21 January and the fourth a week later in Abu Dhabi on 27 and 28 January as the first events of 2024.

The final two meetings will then be held in support of Formula 1.

The penultimate round will take place during next year’s F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend from 29 February to 2 March.

That will pave the way for the season-finale at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from 7 to 9 March.