Prince Abdulaziz rules GT3 Cup Abu Dhabi leg

JEDDAH: Prince Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal (ATF) of the Saudi Falcons Racing Team emerged champion at the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East winning third and fourth rounds last weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
After having expressed concerns last month at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain with Nabood Racing’s Clemens Schmidt leading the standings with 50 points in the first two rounds, last weekend’s challenge has allowed the Saudi Falcons standout to soar with Schmidt trailing behind 16 points in a neck-to-neck race which saw him dropping back due to a gearbox problem. ATF finished first ahead of Schmidt’s teammate Karim Azhari followed closely by Kuwait’s Zaid Ashkanani.
ATF’s teammate, Faisal Bin Laden, secured the sixth spot in Round 3, scoring a valuable 14 points for the team that allowed them to collect the team’s winning trophy, bringing them closer to the top tier in the championship standings.
Round 4 that was resumed after a three hour interlude of rest, analysis and preparation saw ATF control the race from lap 1 to the end, controlling the tempo and rhythm of the race with a calm disposition, forcing his close competitor Schmidt to commit mistakes and drift further behind, with Bin Laden finishing 8th in Round 4 and scoring additional points.
The jubilant Al Faisal expressed: “We won both races and lead the championship. I will try hard to reclaim the title and I believe that my participation in races like Le Mans and the 24 hours of Dubai helped me improve a lot and gave the push to do better in this race”.
“We still know that the championship is still young and we should keep full focus for the coming weeks especially with the rise of new competitors battling for first. I hope I can win both the rounds next week,” he further said. BinLaden expressed his satisfaction with ATF’s win and believes that time will help him improve and is hoping for a better race weekend in Dubai.