Three of Bahrain’s most successful racers will be flying the kingdom’s flag in front of their home fans in the upcoming first round of the 2016/2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.

His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, and Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa are all included on the provisional entry list for the highly anticipated meeting.

The GT3 Cup season-opener takes place November 17 to 19 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir as part of the inaugural Bahrain Motorsport Festival. Only five days remain (Editor’s note: from Saturday, November 12) for the highly anticipated meeting, which brings together the very best of international motorsport and off-track entertainment.

The GT3 Cup is one of two championships supporting the main events, which are the FIA World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain and the CIK-FIA World Championship and CIK-FIA World Junior Championship. The other support series is the India-based single-seater championship, the MRF Challenge.

His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla, Shaikh Hamad and Shaikh Isa bin Salman are part of a 19-driver line-up, all of whom will be competing in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.

Others who are set to compete are former champion Zaid Ashkanani of Kuwait and some returning participants including Ryan Cullen or Ireland, Rob Frijns and Charlie Frijns of the Netherlands, Bandar Alesayi of Kuwait, Dennis Olsen of Norway, Wolfgang Triller of Germany and Magnus Ohman of Sweden.

Others set to line up on the grid are John Wartique from Belgium, Al Faisal Al Zubair from Oman, Tom Oliphant from the UK, Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg, Christoffer Bergstrom from Sweden, Salih Yoluc from Turkey, Prince Moahmmed Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and Bashar Mardini of the UAE.

Commenting on the upcoming eighth season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, founder and organiser Walter Lechner, said: “For us, this is one of the most exciting parts of the year, as we are counting down the days to the official start of a thrilling new season. We are expecting more exceptional talent to compete across Season 8 which highlights just how serious this competition is.

“Over the past seven years we have enjoyed incredible sportsmanship by race drivers who have gone on to be some of the region’s greatest. They learned their trade in our series and we expect it to be the same for the newcomers this season. We have some new faces and they will have to prove themselves against some more experienced racers.”

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based on the 911 series production model – a pure-bred sports car with exceptional levels of power and performance tuned further still to amplify its elite racing characteristics. Thanks to the weight-optimised modular racing exhaust system, the 3.8-litre flat-six engine of the 911 GT3 Cup produces 460hp. The power of the engine is transmitted to the rear axle by a racing clutch and a six-speed sequential gearbox with mechanical slip differential. The electro-pneumatic paddle shift system makes gear changes fast and efficient.

The 911 GT3 Cup is also quicker to decelerate. Fit for endurance, the specially developed race brake system cuts braking distances, allowing the racing drama to be taken even closer to the corners. With greater power and enhanced deceleration, the car’s stability requirements are provided by an extended wheelbase – 100 mm longer than that of its predecessor – as well as an optimised chassis.

The 2016/2017 season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is set to feature six rounds. Round two will be held from December 9 to 12 and round three on January 27 and 28, both at Dubai Autodrome. Round four will take place on February 10 and 11 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi Rounds five and six are back in Bahrain, with the penultimate meeting set for March 4 and 5 and the championship finale from April 14 to 16 in support of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Tickets for the Bahrain Motorsport Festival are now available. They can be purchased online at BIC’s official website www.bahraingp.com, by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000, and from Bahrain City Centre either at the BIC stand or from Virgin Megastore.