For the first time, the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East was part of the Qatar Formula 1 GP - a new milestone for the prospering series in only its second year of its history as an official part of the international Porsche Carrera Cup structure and confirming its exclusive standing as the one-make series number one in the Gulf region.

The free practice session on Friday opened track action at the Lusail International Circuit for the prestigious GP weekend. Janne Stiak immediately set the signs for what would become a very successful round 2 of the PCCME 2024/2025. Setting the fastest time, the German was the only driver to break the 2-minute barrier. He was followed by the two Brits, James Wallis and Angus Whiteside, in P2 and P3. Local hero Abdulla Al Khelaifi from Qatar in P4 topped the Pro-Am and GCC category, while Petr Brecka from the Czech Republic led the Masters classification. 

Stiak then confirmed his great form in qualifying. Under the bright lights of Lusail International Circuit, just after the F1 Sprint qualifying on Friday night, he secured pole position for both races. James Wallis came second, nearly half a second behind, with Abdulla Al Khelaifi finishing in a strong P3 and on top of the Pro-Am and GCC category. Bankcy from Japan was fastest in the Masters classification.

Race 1 on Saturday saw a lot of action already at the beginning. Stiak lost the lead at the start to Wallis and Al Khelaifi dropped back to P5, but the race soon had to be red-flagged after a crash of Krister Andero in the back of the field for more than ten minutes. At the re-start, Al Khelaifi again lost a bit of ground, while in front on lap 2 Stiak regained the lead from Wallis and kept it until the chequered flag. One lap later, Wallis lost his second place to Angus Whiteside, who in the end finished in P2 four seconds behind Stiak. Saudi Arabian driver Saud Al Saud in P4 overall came first in the Pro-Am and GCC category, while Mike Mim from Bulgaria topped the Masters classification ahead of Petr Brecka, while Bankcy had to settle in P3. 

The second race on Sunday opened race day at the Qatar Formula 1 GP Circuit – and like on Saturday the winner was Janne Stiak from Germany. Already at the end of lap 1 the Safety Car had to come out, as Soeren Spreng and Petr Brecka were both involved in different collisions and their cars left stranded on track. At the re-start four laps later, Stiak kept his lead and finally finished four seconds ahead of Brit James Wallis. Saud Al Saud lost his third place at the re-start and later all his chances when a spin on lap 6 threw him back to the end of the field. So to the joy of the local crowd Abdulla Al Khelaifi from Qatar secured a strong P3 and topped the Pro-AM and GCC category, while the only female PCCME driver, Alexandra Vateva, after coming third in class in Bahrain, again made it to the podium, this time as second in Pro-AM. Bankcy from Japan this time kept his lead in the Masters classification, ahead of Mim and Andero. 

In the championship, after four races Stiak is now leading 24 points ahead of Wallis, with Whiteside in P3, while in the Pro-AM class Saud Al Saud leads ahead of his fellow countryman Khaled Alahmadi and Alexandra Vateva. The Masters category is now topped by Bulgarian Mike Mim ahead of Brecka and Canadian Mark J. Thomas.

Robert Lechner, Series Head and Promoter, was very happy about the weekend: 

“Debuting as a support event at the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024 was a new milestone for us. Thank you very much to everyone involved in the discussions and preparations at Lusail International Circuit, and especially to the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) as well as the Swiss sports marketing experts from Glenvale Sports for all their support. The PCCME now goes into a holiday break, but we will be back in full strength on the 18th and 19th of January 2025 in Dubai.“