ABU DHABI: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal underlined his dominance of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East by scoring his fifth win in six rounds at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi.
The dashing Saudi driver was in a class of his own as he cruised to victory by 14 seconds from his teammate and cousin, Prince Khalid Al Faisal.
His second success in the space of 24 hours in the UAE capital saw him extend his lead in the championship to 27 points over Prince Khaled.
Bandar Alesayi grabbed the other podium position, with fellow-Saudi drivers Bandar Alireza
Faisal Binladen and Raed Abuzenadah completing the top six. After claiming pole position earlier in the afternoon, Prince Abdulaziz was expecting another tussle with Sheikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, but the Bahraini driver withdrew after feeling unwell before the start of the race.
There was a dramatic start to the sixth round of the 12-round series, which is sponsored by Michelin and Mobil 1, with Abu Dhabi’s Khaled Al Qubaisi quickly climbing two places to close down on the championship leader.
And suddenly the UAE driver, who has been competing in sports car racing only since last summer, was in the lead after pulling of a smart overtaking move to get ahead of Prince Abdulaziz on the first lap, although it was not a lead that lasted long.
Clearly charged by the prospect of a surprise result he made two excursions off the circuit to slip to fifth place, and after collecting a warning he was forced to retire when he left the track for a third time.
There were no problems for Prince Abdulaziz who looked in complete control and has now won each race so far in the Porsche series with the exception of Round Two in Bahrain where he finished runner-up to Prince Khalid.
In the Mobil 1 Trophy for rookies and true amateur drivers over the age of 45, Binladen maintained his 100 percent success record.
