The Kingdom's Formula One circuit is host to the first round of Maserati's one-make series which sees drivers from across the Middle East and Europe battle it out across the region's premier racing tracks over a six-round, 12-race programme.

Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalfia, CEO of Bahrain International Circuit, drove the stunning Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo during both free practice sessions today in preparation for tomorrow's two races. He enjoyed getting behind the wheel of a race car once again. "It was fantastic. It's been a while since I've been in a race car so it's always nice to smell the brakes and hear the sound of the engine. And this Maserati is a quick car - a lot quicker than I thought it would be."

"At Bahrain International Circuit we always try to help championships grow and for us it's important to support motorsport in the Middle East. There's a lot of history of motorsport here in Bahrain, and we would like to see it grow over the years. It's very good to see manufacturers like Maserati supporting motorsport and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race."

The Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series is the headline race at Bahrain International Circuit's Speed Weekend and motorsport fans in the Kingdom will see two races play out over 30 minutes on the technical Inner Circuit configuration of the track.

Lebanese-racing driver Joe Ghanem posted the quickest time of the afternoon practice session, lapping the 2.55km track in 1:10.933. With just four seconds separating the entire grid, the races promise lots of action as the drivers chase to be crowned the first race winner in the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK.