Richard Wagner from Germany kicked off the action today in the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend by going first in the first practice of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East.
The championship is part of the weekend’s support programme in Sakhir, and it is holding the first round of its 2020/2021 season.
Wagner made his presence felt as he topped the times with a best lap of 2:05.094 late in the 45-minute session, held in cool temperatures with slight rain early on.
Jesse Van Kuijk from the Netherlands followed with a best lap that was just 0.053s slower, while Julian Hanses of Germany was third quickest with a lap 0.321s off the pace.
Each of the top three are competing this weekend in the series’ Pro category of the GT3 class.
Lucas Groeneveld, also from the Netherlands, was fastest in the Pro-Am category while Eddy Waldhier of Germany set the pace amongst the Am runners.
Bahrain’s Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa were eighth and 10th, respectively. Shaikh Ali had a fastest lap of 2:08.838 competing in the Pro-Am category, while Shaikh Jaber registered a top lap of 2:09.693 in the Am.
The Porsche Sprint Challenge returns for the weekend’s second practice session, also to be run over 45 minutes.