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Shihab tops Spanish F4 race standings

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Muscat, April 8 - Oman’s 15-year-old racer Shihab al Habsi topped the Spanish Formula 4 standings after winning the third race and finishing second in the first race at the Navarra race circuit in Son Sunday. Al Habsi leads the standings with 43 points with Argentinian Franco Colapinto close behind on 41 points and Rafa Villanueva was third on 22 points. Tijmen van der Helm, who also had 22 points was fourth while Glenn van Berlo was fifth on 21 points. Colapinto — racing under the patronage of Fernando Alonso — started all three races from pole and won the season opener in 27m14.163s, edging Al Habsi by 5.340 seconds.


Colapinto finished third in the second race while Shihab failed to finish in top five. In race three, Al Habsi outdragged Colapinto off the line to take the lead. Colapinto then had to pit for a new rear wing after being hit from behind and finished down in seventh. Al Habsi survived a safety car to claim victory for the debuting Xcel Motorsport team with a timing of 26m58.559s. Shihab was followed by Rached Ghanem and Tijmen Van Der Helm. Al Habsi, who entered the Spain racing challenge for a first time, showed a solid performance with great control against top leading racers who had enough experience on the circuit.

Shihab al Habsi said reaching the podium in this international event is a positive push for him to do his best in the forthcoming race in France during the month end. “The competitions were very tough in the Spain racing championship and I tried my best to deliver and achieve a podium place. I am proud with this achievement and looking forward to raise the flag of Oman in all my international participations,” Al Habsi said. “I had an intensive training prior this race to ensure delivering significant performances and to be on the podium. The training programme included some physical trainings also as I have to maintain the ideal weight and shape. It also focused on various types of physical and mental preparations,” the teenager added.


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