Cullen, Shaikh Isa shine

Manama : Ireland’s Ryan Cullen won the second race of the third round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Season 8 and extended his lead at the top of the driver’s championship to 17 points.

Team Bahrain’s Shaikh Isa Salman Al Khalifa enjoyed another high finish and followed up his fifth place in the opening race, with a sixth position in the second race. The young driver who continues to impress in his debut season clinched first place in both the Bronze category and the GCC Rookie Category in Race 2.

Speaking after a successful weekend, Shaikh Isa Salam said, “I had one of the best starts that I’ve had so far in the championship and managed to climb a couple of positions after the first turn. There was a collision ahead of me which I managed to avoid, this saw me move into an even stronger position and resulted in me winning the GCC Rookie and Bronze Category.”

Looking ahead to the next round in Abu Dhabi the Team Bahrain driver said, “I am excited about driving in Abu Dhabi in the next round. It is a track I have visited a number of times but never been able to drive there. Hopefully I can continue my championship form and carry on building my racing career step by step.”

At the front of the race, Cullen cruised to his second race win of the weekend taking the chequered flag by a comfortable winning margin of 2.54 seconds over his main rival and second placed driver in the championship Charlie Frijns of Qatar.

The Irishman had started second on the grid but quickly gained control on the opening lap and was untroubled throughout as Frijns had to work harder for his second position after losing the lead and falling back to fourth in the early stages. But the Doha-resident regained his composure and focus to bounce-back from a disappointing opening race.

Frijns determination saw him overtake Tom Oliphant and Dylan Pereira on consecutive laps to settle for second with Britain’s Oliphant eventually finishing in third.

The next round of the championship takes place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on February 10-11.

This championship represents the most professional series of its kind in the region and a pathway to world-class international motorsport.

Season 8 features an international grid of 16 drivers representing 12 different nationalities covering every level of competition from professionals, amateurs and rookie drivers. International drivers hail from Ireland, Norway, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and Turkey with the best local drivers representing the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.