Dubai: Kuwait’s Zaid Ashkanani secured his first race win in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East in race two of round two at Dubai Autodrome on Friday, in what was the closest contest of the series’ fifth season so far.
Starting from pole on the 16-car grid, Ashkanani led throughout and took the flag despite immense pressure from reigning champion Clemens Schmid. Al Nabooda Racing’s Schmid almost snatched victory on the final lap, but the Kuwaiti kept his cool to cross the line first.
Saudi Falcons’ Abdul Aziz Al Faisal finished third.
Following his victory by 0.913 seconds, Ashkanani said: “It was a tough race and I was concentrating as hard I could right until the very end. I learned a lot from yesterday’s [Thursday] sessions but the pressure I felt today was huge. I feel I can take a lot from this race and I’m looking forward to building some momentum in the January round in Qatar.”
The Skydive Dubai Falcons duo of Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum and Saeed Al Muhairi built on their solid performances in Thursday’s race one, when they finished sixth and eighth respectively. On Friday, Shaikh Hasher was fourth after starting sixth, while team-mate Al Muhairi finished tenth.
Series leader Schmid produced a blistering drive to win Thursday’s first race and build on his double success in round one in Bahrain. Teammate Karim Al Azhari finished second and Bahrain’s Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, in his first appearance of the season, third.
After the race, Schmid said: “For Al Nabooda and myself it’s a great result — first and second is the best we can do and especially in what was a very tough race. We made a few changes to the car and the results really showed.
“Starting from pole definitely gave me an advantage as I feel more relaxed from out in front, but the guys pushed me all the way and I couldn’t be happier with the way we finished.”
Al Azhari, who started second, kept hold of his position throughout the race despite feeling the constant pressure of former champion Al Khalifa of Team Bahrain.
It was another impressive result for Al Azhari as he earned his second podium finish of the season. “It could not have gone any better. Driving in Dubai is always special and helps us immensely in our quest to defend the team title,” he said.
Making their debuts on home territory, Shaikh Hasher and Al Muhairi produced respectable results. Afterwards Shaikh Hasher said: “The race was very tough indeed but you can never predict what will happen. At one stage I was back in the 10th place and jumped to sixth.”
