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Ryan Cullen has won the opening race of penultimate round of Season 8 of the
Driving on the shortened Oasis configuration circuit measured at only 2.55KM the Irishman secured the win in a sprint finish despite racing over an extended 20 laps by overcoming the spirited challenge of Britain’s Tom Oliphant in second and third placed Charlie Frijns of Qatar.
The result means with only three races remaining Cullen (213 pts) extends his lead at the top of the drivers’ standing over nearest rival Frijns (186 pts) by 27 points with Oliphant (175 pts) staying in third 38 points behind the leader Cullen.
All season long the competition has been fierce demonstrated by the fact that going into the race weekend as many as eight drivers could mathematically still win the driver’s title. So it was always going to be a closely fought contest. But the combination of a condensed track packed with a 16-car grid offered a powerful mix of motorsport ingredients that resulted in a
Speaking after the race win a buoyant Cullen said: “I had a really good start and managed to pull a gap early on. Tom (Oliphant) had a good start also and after the first lap closed the gap behind me due to the short circuit. I saw Tom make a couple of mistakes behind me which helped me increase my lead as the race went on. The tighter track makes it much harder to pull away and really gain a strong lead, but I don’t mind, I like this circuit and it’s the same for everyone.
“My main goal is to keep my head down, aim for the same result tomorrow and make it as hard as I can for anyone to be able to catch me on points by the final round.”
The furious pace set in qualifying continued into the race as the twisty and highly undulating circuit offered no breathing space for those at the front and only encouraged a chasing pack. Gaps simply didn’t appear thanks to limited straights and tight corners. The outcome was a compelling contest that would excite motorsport fans the world over despite few successful overtaking manoeuvres taking place.
With vital championship points at stake it was not the day to back down. Right from the first corner the action was gripping and didn’t let go as what the track lacked in length it easily made up for in entertainment.
Cullen’s victory was courtesy of steely defence and tactical supremacy in the opening stages as Oliphant, Frijns and Pereira attempted to pile on the pressure. After five laps less than a second split the first four drivers. But Cullen remained resolute and lap by lap gradually edged out a small opening to eventually finish 1.906 seconds in font of Oliphant.
Second placed Oliphant added: “I’m happy with my performance today, we’ve definitely got the speed in the car and there wasn’t much between myself and Ryan Cullen at all. The track is very tight and doesn’t allow for many overtaking opportunities which made it hard to challenge for first position. It’s great to race here again after starting the season in here Bahrain, I now know the track quite well and will be hoping to improve slightly tomorrow in qualifying to get that first place spot on the grid, and then I can go for the win and make it the perfect weekend of racing!”
Regardless of the fine result at Sakhir for Cullen little has changed in the standings. All driver categories namely; gold, silver and bronze remain brilliantly poised in one of the closest battles in the championship’s history as the series enters the second and final race of Round 5.
Speaking after the race series Manager Walter Lechner added: “This week we called for cool heads and calmness but it was always going to be a hotly contested race as everyone is so desperate to win at this critical stage in the season and the grid is very evenly matched. So considering the circumstance I am very pleased with the clean driving and skill shown today. Drivers clearly listened and remained patient which is a challenge when you’re racing on the limit.”
The final race of Round 5 of the
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.