Turkey Wins Inaugural FIA GT Nations Cup in Bahrain

Photo: Dirk Bogaerts/SRO

Turkey has claimed victory in the first edition of the FIA GT Nations Cup, with the RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Salih Yoluc and Ayhancan Guven.

The pair won Saturday evening’s race after starting from pole although much of the 60-minute contest was led by the United Kingdom car of Chris Buncombe and Christopher Froggatt.

Guven closed the gap to Buncombe and passed for the lead with ten minutes to go, crossing the finish line 3.3 seconds clear of the AF Corse-run UK car.

Nicklas Nielsen and Johnny Laursen completed the podium for Denmark, meanwhile.

The Russian and Chinese entries were classified fourth and fifth, while only 12 of the 18 cars finished the race.

Several cars had their races ended or written off on the first lap after an incident that involved the Belgian car spinning on the run down to the first corner and across the track after the turn.

Herberth Motorsport’s Australian entry came to a halt at the first corner as well, while separate incidents affected the Belarus and German entries.

Jean-Luc Beaubelique served a drive-through penalty in the French car after an incident that sent the Argentine Lamborghini Huracan GT3 into a spin.

The race ran behind the safety car for almost 15 minutes early on after the first-lap incidents and Buncombe moved into the lead a few corners after the restart.

RESULTS: Main Race

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.