Abu Dhabi: Khalid Al Qubaisi and Team Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing are preparing themselves for one final push in the last round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the 6 Hours of Bahrain, with the aim of protecting their podium place in the championship in the LMGTE Am class come November 19.
Al Qubaisi will be sharing driving duties with David Heinemeier Hansson of Denmark and Patrick Long of the US behind the wheel of the No 88 Porsche 911 RSR.
The team was unfortunate not to finish on the podium in the penultimate round in Shanghai, China, but nevertheless finished fourth and protected their 3rd overall in class in the championship going into the final race in Bahrain.
For Al Qubaisi, the final of the championship at the Bahrain International Circuit is nothing short of a home race because the Abu Dhabi native has raced here on several occasions but he is taking nothing for granted.
“I am so excited to return to Bahrain International Circuit where I have several good memories. Team Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing is looking forward to competing here once again and hoping for a great result on the weekend. Having said that, we had a tough race in 2014 in Bahrain finishing fourth in class. However, last year was better where we finished second and we will do our best this year and fight for the win,” said Al Qubaisi. “This year, the challenge will be finding a way to manage the tyres till the end of the race. The track is very aggressive with low grip, so getting the traction that we require will be a challenge particularly as Porsche engines are in the rear,” he added.
“However, we will try to improve on last year’s result and end the season on a good note. The season in general was tough on us but, on the other hand, it was perfect especially in Le Mans and Mexico; we are heading to Bahrain third overall in class and we will push hard and go for a sweet finish to the season.”
