Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
DETERMINED Bandar Alesayi is hopeful a best-in-class performance in the upcoming Bahrain finale of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East season will not only see him win the silver category title, but also inspire local drivers to try their hand in future editions of the series.
He currently sits in first place by one point and Alesayi is hopeful that fellow drivers from the region will be following his progress in the final round with curiosity.
The thrill of racing and the further development of his own skills have been major motivators for the experienced Saudi competitor, who is no stranger to the Middle East series. He is hoping, however, that his efforts will continue to have greater meaning for the growth of motor sport across the region.
Alesayi said, “After competing in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge for a number of seasons now, it is always refreshing to see new, hungry talent line-up on the grid, eager to show everyone what they are made of.
“We’ve seen this year alone that you definitely can’t write off drivers that have not competed in the championship before. They have all learned how to drive to a high standard, and after spending some time getting to know the car, they are just as much of a threat to beating you in the championship as some of the more experienced drivers in the series.
“Having new talent come into the championship makes the more experienced drivers like myself, that have been doing it for some time, raise their game.
“I would love to see more drivers getting involved in the sport, it’s great for racing here in the Middle East and hopefully people back home will be following my progression and see that it is never too late to learn new tricks! I’m hoping to go out and win my category in the next round and inspire more drivers to get involved.”
As excitement builds for the finale, founder Lechner, said: “Eight seasons of competition and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge continues to go from strength-to-strength, building the skills of new racers in the Middle East,” he said.
“This year has set a new standard for excitement and we’re hopeful that young fans following the series live at the tracks, in the newspapers, magazines, through our feature length TV show airing across the region, and the highlights packages we create for social media, are excited by what they see.
“We all know this is a region which is passionate about motor sport, but we want to get more people actively participating in it.”
As reported in last week’s GulfWeekly, above, Irish driver Ryan Cullen, 25, has had a remarkable rise through the motor sport ranks and is on the verge of claiming his first title – the Porsche GT3 Middle East Gold Championship Cup – in Bahrain.
Victory will see him move into the Porsche mobil1 Supercup next season to test himself in one of the hardest classes of its type in which he will be up against drivers with Formula 1 and Rallycross experience in the support races for the 2017 Formula One European season.
Softly-spoken Cullen said: “With just two races to go in Bahrain I’m quite excited about what I could potentially achieve.”
