De Haan wins Porsche Carrera Cup ME second race at WEC weekend

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Dutchman Robert De Haan wrapped up a sensational opening round in the 2023/2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East today with a fine victory in race two at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), held in support of this weekend’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain.

De Haan triumphed after starting second on the grid, took the lead on lap five and went on to capture the chequered flag ahead of pole-sitter Theo Oeverhaus from Germany with a 1.262-second gap.

The Central Europe Racing driver made up for an unlucky result in the weekend’s first race on Friday, when he had crossed the finish line in first place but was later given a five-second time penalty for a false start, dropping him to third. Oeverhaus, competing for DHL Team, inherited the victory.

Oeverhaus’s countryman Janne Stiak of JS Racing came third today to complete the overall and Pro class podiums 3.767s behind.

Ahmad Al Shehab of Team Kuwait took the win in the ProAm category after finishing fourth overall, with Canadian Bashar Mardini of Team BMR and Saud Al Saud of Saudi Racing classified second and third in class, respectively. 

Italian Sebastian Gorga of R1SE Motorsport completed a double this weekend amongst the PCCME’s Am competitors. Bahrain stars Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa of One% team and Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa of Team Bahrain joined Gorga on the podium.

The PCCME will be back in action for the second of six rounds this season, again at BIC, on 15 and 16 December. Round three will then take place in Dubai on 20 and 21 January, and the fourth meeting a week later in Abu Dhabi on 27 and 28 January as the first events of 2024.

The final two rounds will then be held in support of Formula 1. The penultimate event 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.

Large crowd of fans flock to BIC for WEC pit walk, autograph session

A large crowd of fans attending this weekend’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit enjoyed today a World Endurance Championship (WEC) pit-lane walk and autograph session. 

The race-goers got an up-close-and-personal look at the WEC teams and their cars in their respective garages while also getting a chance to meet the championship’s superstar drivers, take pictures with them and have memorabilia signed.

The pit walk and autograph session are always well attended by motorsport enthusiasts in major international events at BIC, and they are fan favourites as they bring them closer to the heart of the sport.

BIC to host official FIA WEC Rookie Test on Sunday

World Endurance Championship (WEC) action continues at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on Sunday (Editor’s note: 5 November) with the official FIA WEC Rookie Test, taking place the very next day following the season-ending Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The test is an annual event featuring some of the series’ star drivers along with other leading names and up-and-coming talents in the sport. 

There are a total of 18 cars set to take part in Sunday’s programme, which will feature a two-hour morning session followed by an afternoon running of three hours. The tests are to be held behind closed doors.

The field includes nine Hypercars, five LMP2s and four LMGTE Ams, while there will be more than 30 drivers taking part in the sessions, each having varying periods testing in their respective cars. 

Amongst the leading names that will be a part of Sunday’s FIA WEC Rookie Test is seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi, who will be in the cockpit of an LMP2 Oreca 07-Gibson with Team WRT.

Other top names are Formula 1 test and reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Pietro Fittipaldi, and former driver of Bahraini-British motor racing team 2 Seas Motorsport, Ben Barnicoat, to name a few. They will all be testing in WEC Hypercars.