Clemens Schmid of Al Nabooda Racing won the opening race in Round 4 at the Losail International Circuit to continue his title push in an incident-packed encounter under the lights in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East

The UAE-based driver, who has been in consistent form all season, won the race and collected maximum points after his main title contender Zaid Ashkanani of Kuwait suffered a 20second penalty for a jump start while on pole position.

Despite crossing the finish line in first place the unfortunate Ashkanani paid the price for his mistake on the start grid, falling back to fourth position with the time penalty imposed and gifting the 5th race win of the season to a grateful Schmid. Former champion Abdulaziz AlFaisal of Saudi Falcons was promoted to second and Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Algosaibi completed the podium positions in third.

The result sees Schmid extend his lead in the championship to thirty-three (33) points. In a sporting gesture after the race win, reigning champion Schmid said: “The real winner today was Zaid Ashkanani but motorsport can be cruel. Luck has gone my way and I am very pleased to have got maximum points for Al Nabooda Racing. It was an unfortunate error from Zaid and it can happen to any driver. He wanted to get off to a good start. I’m just pleased to have extended my lead in the championship with a solid drive. It’s the result I wanted as I move further ahead at a critical time in the season.”

The most intense battle for points and track position saw the UAE’s Skydive Dubai Falcons team mates produce their most courageous performances yet filled with skill and determination in equal measures. The duo of Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum and Saeed Al Mehairi grew with confidence throughout practice and qualifying before going head to head and overcoming Team Bahrain’s former champion Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa and Mohammed Matter on the track.

Relishing in the challenge and entertaining thousands of spectators Skydive Dubai Falcons Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum claimed a credible fifth moving up from seventh on the grid with Al Mehairi hot on his wheels securing sixth, adding further valuable team points for the Emirati debutants. Both drivers have cemented their places in the top sixth of the overall standings with Al Maktoum fourth and Al Mehairi sixth respectively. Skydive Dubai Falcons are third in their debut season in the team title.

Speaking having collected the trophy for ‘Rookie of the Race’, Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum said; “I’m satisfied with that result. It’s been tough but myself and Saeed have improved with each session and the race went well for us. We’re really working hard to understand the car and tracks but it’s starting to pay off. Now we’re really looking forward to Race 2 and pushing even further up the grid.”

For local motorsport fans that turned out in their thousands to witness the Porsche debut of Qatari hero Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah for Team QMMF it was a proud night. The Olympic medallist and Dakar Rally champion best known for his outstanding rallying career proved his natural racing ability extends to the track as he took to the podium. Al Attiyah’s first Porsche GT3 race experience saw the legend win the Silver Michelin category in impressive fashion, finishing a very credible 11th overall.

Speaking after the race Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah stated: “That was a fantastic feeling and I’m happy with the result for my first race. I need more time to learn about the car and myself but I look forward to that time. The Porsche GT3 is incredible. The power, the brakes, everything feels unreal but also different for me even the start! I’m used to having a nice two minute break between me and the car in front. Here it’s not even one second. The grid is full and you need to look both sides and be smart. I managed to do that and bring it home winning my category. I’m happy but can’t wait for the next race.”

Al Nabooda Racing lead the team title by 38 points from Saudi Falcons and SkyDive Dubai Falcons despite an uncharacteristic result for UAE’s Karim Al-Azhari who finished in 12th.

Source: Porsche