Alesayi on top of Silver Category

BAHRAIN — Ryan Cullen won the opening race of the penultimate round of Season 8 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) with a narrow victory. Driving on the shortened Oasis configuration circuit measured at only 2.55km the Irishman secured the win in a sprint finish despite racing over an extended 20 laps by overcoming the spirited challenge of Britain’s Tom Oliphant in second and third placed Charlie Frijns of Qatar. The result means with only three races remaining Cullen (213 pts) extends his lead at the top of the drivers’ standing over nearest rival Frijns (186 pts) by 27 points with Oliphant (175 pts) staying in third, 38 points behind the leader Cullen. All season long the competition has been fierce demonstrated by the fact that going into the race weekend as many as eight drivers could mathematically still win the driver’s title. So it was always going to be a closely fought contest. But the combination of a condensed track packed with a 16-car grid offered a powerful mix of motorsport ingredients that resulted in a Porsche classic to satisfy a passionate crowd of enthusiasts. Saudi driver Bandar Alesayi took advantage of his strong qualifying position on the grid, to finish in fifth place overall and to take first place in the silver category. The win takes Alesayi to the top of the silver category on points and helps him close the gap on the drivers at the top of the championship standings. — SG