At the half way stage in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal already has the look of a champion, although he is a long way from celebrating at present.

Back-to-back wins during a spectacular race weekend at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi following a double success on home territory last month means he has now won all but one of the six rounds to date in the new one-make Porsche series.

The dashing Saudi star will carry an impressive 27-point lead back to the UAE capital which hosts Rounds 7 and 8 on February 19-20, with the remaining rounds to follow at Reem International Circuit outside Riyadh on March 17-18 and March 31-April 1.

His nearest challenger is team-mate and cousin, Prince Khalid Al Faisal, the only driver to have beaten him so far in the 12-round series, having pushed him into second place in race two at Bahrain International Circuit in December.

While he would love to extend his outstanding winning record, Prince Abdulaziz is prepared to sacrifice individual race success in order to ensure he becomes the first Porsche GT3 Cup champion in the Middle East, although at present he looks unbeatable.

“From now on it’s all about finishing each race for me,” he said. “I want to avoid a situation where I’m put of a race with no points.”

“Of course, if I have a chance to win I’ll take it and definitely I want to be on the podium. But the main aim has to be to stay ahead in the championship and win the title.”

Designed to identify top Arab and local-based talent in the Middle East and become a platform for entry into the world of international GT and sports car racing, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is a new regional version of the GT3 Cup one-make series already running with huge success in Brazil, New Zealand and the US.

Sponsored by Michelin and Mobil 1, the new race series is organised and managed by Austrian-based Lechner Racing on behalf of Porsche Middle East & Africa.

The vastly experienced former Le Mans Porsche driver Walter Lechner uses a team of top-class mechanics and other professionals to ensure the series is run at a very high professional level.

The main advantage of the mechanics behind the GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is the “arrive and drive” concept which allows competitors like Khaled Al Qubaisi, an acquisitions advisor with Mubadala Development Company in Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain-based Saudi businessmen, Fawaz Algosaibi, to expect perfectly prepared Porsche GT3 Cup cars upon their arrival at a circuit.

“We are extremely excited to have launched the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at a time when motorsport in the region is enjoying enormous popularity,” said Deesch Papke, Managing Director, Porsche Middle East & Africa.

“We’re fortunate to have fantastic track facilities in the region and we’re committed to making the series a major success. It is adding another chapter to Porsche’s long history of involvement in international motorsport, and again underlines the brand’s unmatched expertise in building successful sports cars for the road and the race track.”

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is the latest version of one-make series racing which the German manufacturer has been developing on a global scale since launching the original Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany and France in 1990.

Competitors in a one-make series all drive identical, equally well-prepared racing versions of production cars. The main benefits are that costs are minimised, making the sport more accessible, while the emphasis is on driver skill, with no driver having the advantage of a faster, superior vehicle.

The 2010 versions of the GT3 Cup car were making their world competitive debut when the series was launched in Bahrain, where Prince Abdulaziz went into the record books as the first race winner in the championship.

He helped to make more motor sport history a month later when the third round at the surprising Reem International Circuit, nestling among rolling sand dunes outside Riyadh, became the first international circuit race ever to be staged in Saudi.

When the 11 drivers arrived at Yas Marina Circuit for rounds five and six, Prince Abdulaziz was expecting a major challenge from Bahrain’s 2005 Formula BMW Asia champion, Sheikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa, who was in the fourth place in the championship.
From the start Sheikh Salman looked in a determined mood, producing the fastest lap in official practice before grabbing pole position in qualifying.

When the race got under way, Prince Abdulaziz quickly began to pile the pressure on Sheikh Salman who nevertheless looked in control and capable of converting pole position into his first win of the series.

But the pressure told as he made the mistake of going wide on a tight corner and Prince Abdulaziz took his chance and slipped through to take the lead for the remainder of the race.

Saudi’s Bandar Alireza claimed third place after Al Qubaisi saw his hopes of a first podium finish on his home circuit shattered by a collision with Prince Khalid Al Faisal which dropped the two drivers to the back of the field.

From the start of the following day Prince Abdulaziz was in no mood to loosen his grip on the championship, setting the fastest time in official practice and winning the pole position in the qualifying session.

And the Saudi driver was in a class of his own as he cruised to victory in Round 6 by 14 seconds from Prince Khalid, with Bandar Alesayi grabbing the other podium position.

Prince Abdulaziz had been expecting another tussle with Sheikh Salman, but the Bahraini driver withdrew before the race after feeling unwell.

There was then a dramatic start to Round 6 as Al Qubaisi quickly climbed two places to close down on the championship leader.

Then suddenly the UAE driver, who has been competing in sports car racing only since last summer, was in the lead after pulling off an astonishing overtaking move to get ahead of Prince Abdulaziz on the first lap, although the lead did not last long.

Clearly charged by the prospect of a surprise result on home territory 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, while a fifth place overall for the inexperienced Saudi driver Faisal Binladen saw him maintain his 100 per cent winning record in the Mobil 1 Trophy for rookies and true amateur drivers over the age of 45.

THE HALF WAY PICTURE
Championship positions after Round 6
1. Abdulaziz Al Faisal (KSA), Al Faisal Racing Team 118pts
2. Khalid Al Faisal (KSA), Al Faisal Racing Team 91pts
3. Bandar Alesayi (KSA), 81pts
4. Bandar Alireza (KSA), Bison Reem Racing Team 70pts
5. Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa (BAH) 68pts
6. Raed Abuzenadah (KSA), Bison Reem Racing Team 60pts
7. Faisal Binladen (KSA), Bison Reem Racing Team 59pts
8. Jaap Vaandrager (NL) 45pts
9. Fahad Algosaibi (KSA), ClassicArabia Racing 38pts
10. Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE), Tolimit Racing 33pts
11. Fawaz Al Gosaibi (KSA) ClassicArabia Racing 23pts
12. Nabil Karam (RL) Karam Rally Team 13pts

Mobil 1 Trophy positions
1. Faisal Binladen (KSA), Reem Racing Team 120pts
2. Jaap Vaandrager (NL) 102pts
3. Fawaz Al Gosaibi (KSA) 68pts
4. Nabil Karam (RL) Karam Rally Team 34pts