DUBAI: Oman’s Al Faisal al Zubair will be hoping to continue his stunning form in the Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East when the series resumes with three races at round three of the series at the Dubai Autodrome this weekend.
The Omani has completely dominated the season thus far: the defending champion followed up two race wins and a second place at the opening round in Dubai with a clean sweep of three victories from three pole positions in Bahrain last month. That form has enabled the young Walter Lechner Racing star to extend his lead in the regional series.
Fellow Omani Khaled al Wahaibi has endured mixed results from his opening six races but finds himself alone in fourth position in the title race behind Al Zubair, American racer Michael de Quesada and Turkey’s Berkan Besler.
Through their joint performances, Team Oman will take a massive 100-point lead over Team Sweden in the Teams’ Championship into the Dubai race meeting. Team Bahrain holds third place. Al Zubair holds a 29-point advantage in the Drivers’ Championship over de Quesada.
Al Zubair said: “I’ve been back to London since the last round but I am really excited for round three. The first two rounds were fantastic for us. It was a great way to start the season. Now we are looking for consistency and more wins. The results so far have been great, so I hope we can carry on with more wins. Dubai is a track I really like.”
Al Wahaibi added: “I’m looking forward to the start of round three after a long January break. I’m excited to get back in the car, especially after round two in Bahrain. I think we could have done a bit better but we were put on the back foot by our qualifying performances.
“That is what we have been trying to work on during the break. Hopefully we can bounce back in Dubai. I am looking forward to similar and even better results there than before. We were close to the leaders at the last race in Bahrain and that is a positive I can take to Dubai.”
Drivers will be permitted to carry out testing on the race circuit tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday (January 24th), before two qualifying sessions are pencilled in the timetable for 09.20hrs and 12.00hrs on Friday prior to the first of the three races, starting at 16.25hrs.
The third qualifying session takes centre stage at 08.00hrs on Saturday morning and the hectic day’s action continues with the second race at 10.35hrs and race three from 13.15hrs.
Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East – positions after round 2:
- Al Faisal al Zubair (OMN) 148pts
- Michael de Quesada (USA) 119pts
- Berkay Besler (TUR) 111pts
- Khalid al Wahaibi (OMN) 93pts
- Saul Hack (RSA) 91pts
- Issa al Khalifa (BAH) 78pts
- J B Simmenauer (FRA) 73pts
- Tio Ellinas (CYP) 71pts
- Magnus Oehman (SWE) 71pts
Team Championship –
positions after round 2:
- Team Oman 241pts
- Team Sweden 141pts
- Team Bahrain 127pts
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