Koehler boosts C’ship title hopes with Sakhir win

Sakhir, Bahrain International Circuit, played host to the penultimate round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East Season 11, with 14 drivers from nine different countries taking part in three races across two days.

It was a weekend in which current leader Leon Koehler took a large step towards securing the Championship, finishing on the podium in all three races to take his tally to 280 points.

Qualifying for Race 1 took place on Friday morning, with guest driver Dylan Pereira laying down the fastest time with a lap of 2:02.08 to start Race 1 on pole position ahead of Frenchman JB Simmenauer in second. Leon Koehler started in third while David Beckmann – in only his second appearance in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East – started in fourth.

Pereira showed no sign of conceding his pole position with a flawless start to hold off immediate pressure from Simmenauer going into turn one.

The Luxembourg-born driver continued his quick pace throughout the rest of the race, gradually increasing his lead with every lap. By the end of the race, Pereira had built an impenetrable lead, crossing the chequered flag nearly three seconds ahead of Simmenauer to ensure victory in the opening race.

In a race devoid of any real action, the main talking point came on lap two. Newcomer David Beckmann – competing in just his second round – locked his brakes heading into turn three, resulting in a collision with Jesse Van Kuijk.

The crash resulted in a safety car being deployed for two laps before the race got back underway, with both Beckmann and Van Kuijk unable to continue due to vehicle damage.

The top three finished as they started, with Pereira in first and Simmenauer in second.

Koehler secured third with Richard Wagner in fourth. Sweden’s Christoffer Bergstroem finished in an impressive fifth place – his highest ever finish in the Championship.

Race winner, Dylan Pereira, said: “I had a bad start and almost lost P1 going into the first turn. Luckily for me I was able to hold off JB and shortly after that the safety car came out which slowed everything down.

“After the safety car, JB and Leon were fighting for second place which gave me the opportunity to pull away. I just focussed on being consistent and avoiding silly mistakes for the rest of the race, which is what I did.”

Race 2 got underway early on Saturday afternoon with Simmenauer on pole position after an impressive qualifying session which saw him clock a time of 2:02.17. Completing the front row was Leon Koehler with a time of 2:02.52, while the winner of Race 1, Dylan Pereira, started in third and David Beckmann in fourth.

 After dominating from lights out, Simmenauer took the chequered flag and in doing so his first win of the Championship, two seconds ahead of Koehler in second.

The battle for P2 ebbed and flowed throughout the race, with Pereira and Koehler constantly trading blows.

Pereira made his early pressure count on lap two, manoeuvring past Koehler into second position where he would remain until lap 6, when a rare mistake by the Luxembourg driver left Koehler with enough room going into turn two to overtake him on the inside.