Oeverhaus, Wurz triumph at Bahrain International Circuit

TDT | Manama                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Theo Oeverhaus from Germany and Oscar Wurz of Austria powered to impressive victories yesterday in their respective championships held as part of Beyon Speed Weekend at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

Oeverhaus claimed an impressive pole-to-flag win in race one of the second round in the 2023/2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East (PCCME), while Wurz captured an historic first-ever race victory in the Formula 4 Saudi Arabia Trophy, which is staging the opening meeting of its inaugural campaign at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

On the occasion of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s celebrations of its National Day, the anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne, and the accompanying national events, Beyon Speed Weekend is being held as the on-track highlight of BIC’s festivities.

Beyon Speed Weekend continues today with another full day’s programme. The action begins from 11am and continues until 4pm. All are welcome to attend. Entry for fans will be completely free of charge. In the PCCME race, Oeverhaus and countryman Janne Stiak were battling at the front after quick get-aways at the start, but pole-sitter Oeverhaus, who set a fastest lap of two minutes 02.068 seconds to top qualifying, eventually powered to the lead.

Oeverhaus gradually widened his gap at the front over the sprint’s 12 laps, and took the chequered flag with a winning time of 24:51.098. The DHL Team ace beat Stiak of JS Racing by 4.570s at the finish, while Dutchman Flynt Schuring of Central Europe Racing completed the overall podium 11.753s behind.

All three were also the top finishers in the PCCME’s Pro class. Kuwaiti Ahmad Al Shehab of Team Kuwait took the victory in the ProAm category after finishing fifth overall, while Italian Sebastian Gorga of R1SE Motorsport won the Am class after being classified 13th.

Tight-knit

The PCCME continues today with more tight-knit racing on the Beyon Speed Weekend timetable. A second qualifying session scheduled for an 11.45am start will set up the grid for the round’s second race, which will flag off at 2.15pm.

It will once again be held over 12 laps and will wrap up this meeting’s events in the PCCME. Meanwhile, in yesterday’s first race of Beyon Speed Weekend in the Formula 4 Saudi Arabia Trophy, pole-sitter Suleiman Zanfari of Morocco was engaged in a tight battle with Hamda Alqubaisi from the UAE at the front early on in the 10-lap event.

Fredrico Al Rifai of Italy, Wurz and Saqer Almoasherji from Kuwait were not far behind with just six-tenths of a second separating the top five. Wurz was then able to take over as leader late on and extended his advantage over the concluding laps, with Zanfari dropping a number of places behind and Alqubaisi having an unfortunate spin.

Wurz went on to take the victory in 27:06.770—1.131s ahead of Almoasherji, while Al Rifai took the final podium step. Kirill Kutskov from Russia finished fourth 3.391s back, Montego Maassen of Germany was fifth 4.863s behind, and Omar Alwaleed Aldereyaane from Saudi Arabia took sixth 6.124s from the winner.

Earlier in the day, Zanfari kicked off the wekeend’s events by topping the free practice session with a best lap of 2:06.487. Zanfari then captured the first-ever pole position of the championship with a fastest time of 2:05.585 in qualifying, beating out Alqubaisi by 0.389s.

Action in the Formula 4 Saudi Arabia Trophy continues today at Beyon Speed Weekend with three more races, each over 10 laps. The series’ second race is scheduled for an 11am start, with race three at 1.15pm. The fourth and final sprint of the opening round is scheduled to flag off at 3.30pm.