Starting in third place after Abu Dhabi's Khaled al Qubaisi had grabbed his first pole position in the 12-round series, Abdulaziz came through to win from championship leader, Sheikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa, in the process cutting the Bahraini's advantage to four points.
Saudi teenager Fahad Algosaibi took the third podium position while Al Qubaisi, who led for the first 11 of 25 laps, had to settle for fourth place.
Saudi Bandar Alesayi and Al Qubaisi's teammate, Musaed Al Murar, completed the top six, with the Abu Dhabi driver winning the rookies class for the sixth time this season.
After setting the fastest time in the morning qualifying session, Al Qubaisi had high hopes of a breakthrough victory in the Porsche GT3 Cup series, and he drove with a lot of composure in the opening stages.
But after slipping ahead of Algosaibi, Prince Abdulaziz gradually increased the pressure on Al Qubaisi and squeezed past him on lap 11 to take control.
Both Algosaibi and Sheikh Salman - who had started fifth on the grid - also moved past Al Qubaisi on the next lap, but while the Bahraini closed the gap on the Saudi in the dying stages of the race he was never able to get close enough to snatch victory.
"My strategy was to get in front of Fahad, put pressure on Khaled and try and force him into a mistake, and that's what happened," said Prince Abdulaziz at the finish. "It wasn't easy, but this was exactly what I was looking for." The win put him in a strong frame of mind for Round 8 to follow later in the afternoon.
Earlier in the day it was confirmed that the second of today's scheduled three Porsche GT3 Cup races would be moved back a week, meaning that the final four rounds will now be staged at Dubai Autodrome next Friday and Saturday.
Victory in Abu Dhabi gives Abdulaziz Porsche GT3 Cup title boost
Publication Date:
Fri, 2011-04-08 19:56
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