Darryl O'Young moves into uncharted territory when he competes in the opening rounds of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend.
The Hong Kong driver, who won last year's Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series, is under no illusions as he competes against some of the world's best drivers in rounds one and two of the competition representing Schnabl Engineering LKM Team Jebsen.
O'Young has one practice session today before he is plunged into the deep end in the opening round tomorrow, part of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix weekend.
After just two days testing, O'Young knows it won't be an easy ride as he competes in a 30-car field.
'It's going to be so much harder this time. So close is the field that just two-tenths of a second can mean eight places. This is where the bar goes up,' said O'Young.
The Canada-born driver will race in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car - the same car which took him to victory in last year's Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series - but this time, he will be using composite brakes.