Ghiotto, Besler take support series wins to make a flying start to F1 Bahrain GP Race Day

 § Ghiotto wins F2 Sprint Race in dramatic fashion

§ Besler becomes final winner of Porsche GT3 season

§ Massive turnout of fans for F1 Autograph Session

There was already plenty of action early on on Race Day Sunday at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir, with the two series held in support of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 showcasing “Limitless” thrills.

Luca Ghiotto enjoyed a dramatic victory in the Sprint Race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, while Berkay Besler won the final event of the season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.

Both races have now set the stage for another spectacular 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix, to be held under the bright floodlights of BIC from 6.10pm later Sunday evening.

Ghiotto clinches late win in F2 Sprint Race 

After leading early on in the 23-lap Sprint Race, Ghiotto dropped all the way to 14th as he emerged from a pit stop on lap 13 with fresh tyres in his UNI-Virtuosi challenger.

But the Italian masterfully fought his way back to the front and re-captured the lead on the penultimate lap after passing DAMS rival Sergio Sette Camara. Earlier, he overtook Feature Race winner Nicholas Latifi in the other DAMS car to go into second position.

All three drivers finished in the top thee, forming a similar podium from the one that appeared for the Feature Race on Saturday. Ghiotto was in second place from that event, but this time he was able to claim the sensational victory in a time of 42m 36.192s.

Sette Camara had to settle for second place 5.474s behind Ghiotto, while Latifi this time was third 6.867s back.

Earlier in the 23-lap sprint, pole-sitter Mick Schumacher of Prema Racing got away with a clean start, but he didn’t hold on to the lead very long as Sette Camara took over for a few laps.

As the race went on, Ghiotto eventually made his way to the front before pitting.

Ghiotto’s UNI-Virtuosi teammate Guanyu Zhou (+18.240s) finished fourth, Carlin’s Louis Deletraz (+21.939s) was fifth, Schumacher (+24.679s) came sixth while ART Grand Prix’s Nyck De Vries (+25.154s) and MP Motorsport’s Jordan King (+25.520s) completed the top eight.

The second round of the Formula 2 season takes place in Baku from April 26 to 28.

Besler takes season-ending victory in Porsche GT3 Cup ME 

Besler won the season-ending race of the Porsche GT3 Cup after narrowly beating newly crowned champion Al Faisal Al Zubair of Oman to the chequered flag. Only 0.197s separated the pair in the 10-lap sprint.

The triumphant Turk clinched his win in a total race time of 21m 56.466s.

JB Simmenauer from France completed the podium after crossing the finish line 2.211s behind.

Dylan Pereira (+3.449s) from the Netherlands was fourth, Leon Koehler (+4.140s) from Germany fifth, and Bahrain’s very own Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (+5.601s) sixth overall.

Rounding out the top 10 were Khalid Al Wahabi of Oman, pole-sitter Tio Ellinas of Cyprus, Jesse Van Kuijk of the Netherlands and Christoffer Bergstrom from Sweden.

The top three overall were also the winners in the Pro class.

Koehler, Shaikh Isa bin Salman and Van Kuijk formed the podium in the ProAm category; while the winners of the Am class were Michael Knutzon of Sweden, Michael Sauer of Denmark and Michael Doppelmayr of Austria.

Massive fan turn-out for Formula 1 Drivers’ Autograph Session 

A massive turn-out of Formula 1 fans gathered at Bahrain International Circuit’s F1 Village vending area for the F1 Drivers’ Autograph Session today.

Donned in their favourite team’s gear while waving various nations’ flags, the admiring race-goers braved the afternoon heat and queued up in long lines for a chance to get up close and personal with their favourite Formula 1 drivers.

All 20 of the sport’s superstars were on hand.

The legion of fans were able to take pictures with the drivers and interacted with them in the event.