Powering to its eighth season of top flight motorsport, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East represents the ultimate opportunity for prospective motor racers to compete in a professional racing environment, refining their skills for global competition.

Over the previous seven series, drivers have gone to race in competitions, such as the elite Porsche Supercup, the World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and even single seater GP2.

Launching at the Bahrain International Circuit on November 19, the series gets underway as part of the 6 Hours of Bahrain, the finale weekend of the World Endurance Championship, giving racers an immediate immersion into an FIA-run competition.

Rounds 2 and 3 will see the series travel to Dubai from December 9-10 and January 27-28, 2017 respectively, before a trip down to Abu Dhabi on February 10-11 following the series’ hugely successful return to Yas Marina circuit last year. Bahrain International Circuit will be the venue for the closing weekends with Round 5 running from March 3-4 and the season finale as an official support race of the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in April next year.

Speaking ahead of the new season, Walter Lechner, manager and organiser of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, said: “The series is open to anyone in the region, of all backgrounds and levels of racing experience and we are able to train drivers and ensure that required licenses are achieved.

“Where the drivers will find the real test is when they are competing, testing and qualifying, working closely with their engineering teams to look at performance data and understanding feedback.

“It is through this that we help drivers develop.”

Regarded as the purest form of racing with all drivers competing in identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cups, the unique one-make series consists of 12 races between November 2016 and April 2017, giving an unrivalled opportunity for track time to young racing hopefuls.