Saudi Falcons Abdulaziz Al-Faisal heads into the winter break after finishing second in Round 6 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at the Dubai Autodrome after a stunning battle with winner and nemesis Clemens Schmid yesterday.
Starting second on the 15-car grid, Al-Faisal could not displace Schmid from first place despite numerous attempts at overtaking the Austrian on the 10-lap 5.390 KM Dubai Autodrome circuit.
Schmid and Al-Faisal, driving in front of a large crowd at the Autodrome, produced one of the closest finishes in the season so far with only 0.262 seconds separating the fiercely competitive racers.
The result in Round 6 means Al-Faisal heads into the winter break leading in the championship standings with a 12 points lead on 140 points, followed by Schmid in second place on 128 points and Karim Al-Azhari in third on 117 points after six rounds of the fourth season in the region’s leading – one-make series.
Although the winner and second placed drivers in Round 6 were identical to Round 5 a day earlier, the two races shared no resemblance with a charging Al-Faisal relentless in his pursuit of Schmid throughout. Driving the identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup it was pure Porsche racing and motorsports at its finest with Saudi’s Al-Faisal having to settle for second place.
After finishing second in consecutive rounds, Al-Faisal said: “Clemens did not give me a chance throughout the weekend. He gave one of his best performances this season but I am happy with the way we set up but the main advantage for Clemens was starting on pole position. Importantly I’m still ahead in the championship. I will continue to fight really hard and next up is my home race weekend at Reem. So there is a lot to be positive about.” Al-Faisal’s teammate Faisal Bin Laden could not manage to break-away from the midfield grid and finished in tenth position.
Dubai’s double winner Clemens Schmid said: “It was a really tough race. A lot tougher than yesterday as Abdulaziz was always in my slip stream. The car was perfect and I just focused on not making any mistakes. That was real racing and it came down to the wire.
That’s what I love about the series it’s all down to the driver. I’m pleased to get two wins here but I’ll need to keep pushing and will aim for wins at the Reem Circuit as still 12 points behind at the half way stage. It’s a big gap but I feel I can close it” Karim Al-Azhari made it an almost perfect weekend for Al-Nabooda, after finishing in third place. Having collected valuable points for the team, Al-Azhari was pleased he redeemed his error in Round 5, when he was penalized for jump-starting on the grid.
Al-Azhari said: “Once again it was tough and difficult to separate the top two. But I am happy to have made up for my error yesterday, collect crucial points for the team and give us a comfortable lead over Saudi Falcons in the Team title category.” In the battle for the top six positions, last season’s championship runner-up Bander Alesayi made a guest appearance in Dubai and finished in fourth, Kuwaiti teenager Zaid Ashkanani finishing in fifth position. Team Bahrain’s Mohammed Mattar, who finished in fourth place in Round 5, produced a terrific fight back after starting 13th on the grid to complete the top six.
The third weekend at the Dubai Autodrome has once again confirmed the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge as the ultimate series in the region, bursting with talent, passion and sporting rivalry.
Season 4 of the leading one-make series heads to the Reem International Circuit, Saudi Arabia after the winter break on the 6th and 7th February for Rounds 7 and 8.
The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Team Standings after Round 6 are: 1st Al-Nabooda (245 points), 2nd Saudi Falcons (225 points), 3rd Team Bahrain (202 points).