Alexandra Vateva battles at the front, matches personal best in Porsche Carrera Cup ME at Yas Marina

Alexandra Vateva continued her progression in the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East with a competitive fourth round at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, securing valuable championship points and once again demonstrating front-running pace as she matched her best result in the series.

Photo credits: Porsche Middle East

Alexandra Vateva continued her progression in the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East with a competitive fourth round at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, securing valuable championship points and once again demonstrating front-running pace as she matched her best result in the series.

Competing in the championship for the second season, Vateva has already written her name into the series’ history books as the first woman to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East, a milestone she achieved during her debut campaign last year. That inaugural season proved to be a solid foundation, as she steadily improved across the year and collected three top-five finishes overall as well as ProAm podiums. Returning for the 2025-2026 season, the Bulgarian driver is using the championship as a key part of her preparation ahead of her full 2026 racing program, and her form so far has showcased significant growth.

Racing in the Pro class under the banner of Splendid Racing, Vateva opened the season in impressive fashion at Bahrain, immediately showing podium-level potential and securing a fourth-place finish. Further top-five results followed in Lusail, Qatar, and Dubai, although the third round left a sense of unfinished business, having showed pace capable of delivering a podium or even more, before misfortune struck in the second race when on a restart the field check up heavily, leaving Vateva with nowhere to go and forcing her down the order. While she still impressively recovered a handful of positions on the final lap, she was ultimately unable to convert her speed into the result it deserved.

Arriving at Yas Marina determined to make amends, Vateva immediately looked competitive. In official practice she was fourth fastest overall, despite having a few laps deleted for track limits, a clear indication that she would be again among the strongest in the Pro field. That speed carried into the first qualifying session, where she posted a 1:54.812 to secure sixth on the grid in an extremely tight field.

Race one took place on Saturday afternoon under the lights at the world-class Yas Marina Circuit. At the start, Vateva made a clean getaway but found herself boxed in as the field charged into the opening corners. Ahead, Robert De Haan did not get a perfect launch and dropped behind Taichi Watarai in the fight for the lead, while Vateva held sixth position and immediately latched onto the group ahead.

Running right on the rear bumpers of Al Saud and Sumich, she remained in contention as AlAhmadi surged from fifth up to third.

On lap two, the safety car was deployed to clear debris on the back straight, neutralising the field. When racing resumed with nine laps remaining, Vateva wasted no time in resuming her pursuit of Al Saud, now with Mutschlechner looming in her mirrors. Crucially, she had the pace to break the tow of the cars behind, setting a 1:56.4 lap and creating a small but important gap, allowing her to focus solely on attacking forward.

As the stint progressed, she intensified the pressure in the fight for fifth place, improving again to a 1:56.3, quicker than the two cars ahead, yet remaining stuck in the train. She ultimately crossed the line in sixth, just four tenths shy of the top five, while De Haan executed a decisive mid-race move to take victory in a Seven x Seven Racing's 1-2.

Photo credits: Porsche Middle East

Sunday morning brought the second qualifying session, which would define the grid for the final race of the weekend. Vateva enjoyed one her strongest qualifyings of the season, opening with a 1:54.6 before finding significant improvement on her next flying lap. Her 1:54.260 vaulted her up to fourth on the timesheets, placing her on the second row of the grid, just half a second from pole sitter De Haan and, crucially, ahead of several rivals who had previously held her up in race conditions.

In race two, following a second formation lap, Vateva again executed a clean start. Holding the outside line into the opening corners, she retained fourth place and immediately began applying pressure to the group ahead. Keeping Al Saud behind, she closed onto Sumich and Watarai, who were locked in a battle for second, positioning herself to capitalise on any mistake.

Running nose-to-tail with the top three, Vateva showed good speed, setting a purple second sector and joining the leading quartet as the only drivers consistently dipping into the 1:55s.

On lap four, she improved her personal best once more, although Sumich responded to maintain the gap to Watarai. As the race settled, Vateva continued to run at a highly competitive pace, matching the lap times of the cars ahead while De Haan edged away at the front. With a gap of around two seconds to Sumich and more than five seconds back to Al Saud, she shifted her focus to consistency, eventually bringing the car home safely in fourth place.

The result marked a clean, controlled race and a positive conclusion to the Abu Dhabi weekend, as Vateva matched her personal best finish in the series. With 75 points on the board, she now sits sixth in the championship standings with two rounds remaining. The next challenge awaits in Bahrain on April 10-12, where the series will race in support of the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Sakhir.