Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Damien Faulkner will contest the opening round of the Porsche Supercup in Bahrain this weekend after being invited to join the Walter Lechner Racing team in an Arcapita-backed car.Currently, the race is a one-off deal for Faulkner, whose main target for 2006 is to defend his Carrera Cup title. "I'm very excited and delighted to be asked. It's only for Bahrain at the moment, and I don't know about the future. Carrera Cup is the number one goal and the focus for 2006," says Faulkner.The Irish charger will join Carrera Cup rival Richard Westbrook on the Supercup grid as the season opens in the Grand Prix support race. Faulkner will then fly back to Britain overnight on Sunday to attend the Carrera Cup test and media day at Silverstone on Monday."Me getting this opportunity bodes well for the Carrera Cup," says Faulkner, who sees the international series as a strong career option for 2007 and beyond. "Obviously Richard is quite established in the Supercup and his pace has been rewarded. It's a logical step up the Porsche ladder. It's great to come in with a top team and I'm very grateful to Walter for giving me this chance."Faulkner flew to Bahrain on Friday, fresh from two days of testing in the new 997-model 911GT3 Cup car that he will race in the Carrera Cup this season. He then did a full day's testing at Bahrain on Saturday and ran 80 laps. "We did 400km and the test went very well," he reported.