Abu Dhabi: Following a successful debut season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) last year, the Abu Dhabi Racing team led by driver Khalid Al Qubaisi has been at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France making improvements to the car.
The preseason test times showed a significant improvement, with Al Qubaisi’s test times up 1.7 sec on last year, when the team achieved third place in the standings.
The Abu Dhabi Proton team spent their time in France experimenting with the set-up of the car to improve its performance. One of the main weak points of the car last season, which has now been resolved, was the grip in the rear of the car, particularly in dry conditions. This was due to the Porsche engine being in the back of the car, causing more grain on the rear tyres.
“We are very positive about the upcoming season, my test times have improved significantly on last year, mostly thanks to the experience and confidence gained last season. On the whole the testing was very good, we did a few experiments with set-up, some worked and some didn’t,” Al Qubaisi said.
“We improved the car in some key areas thanks to some clever tweaks and we have resolved the grip issue in the rear of the car. Also, thanks to the experience of last season and the preseason test, we know the car much better, so we know what to avoid during race weekends.”
The new WEC season gets underway with the 6 Hours of Silverstone in Great Britain from April 10-12.
The Emirates Global Aluminium and Abu Dhabi Racing-backed squad finished third overall in the team standings in the LMGTE Am category last season, behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR and just missed out on the third step of the podium in the drivers’ standings.
