Abu Dhabi: Following a tricky start to the new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season at Silverstone last month, Abu Dhabi Racing driver Khalid Al Qubaisi has his sights firmly set on the podium in round two of the WEC (6 Hours of Spa), which gets under way on May 2.
The Emirates Global Aluminium and Abu Dhabi Racing-backed squad, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing, finished fifth in class LMGTE Am at Silverstone. The team had led for much of the race but incurred a time penalty for speeding in the pit lane as a result of a technical glitch in the Porsche 911 RSR.
Nevertheless it was an incredible effort by Al Qubaisi, Christian Reid and Klaus Bachler, who fought their way back into the race and finished within the points.
At Spa last year, the Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing team was on track for a podium position after finishing fastest in free practice two and qualifying in fourth place despite wet and tricky conditions. However the team was hampered by a spin that cost them their position in the race and eventually finished fourth overall in class.
Ahead of next month’s round two, Al Qubaisi said: “Spa is one of the best and most exciting tracks for us as drivers and it’s a circuit I’m more comfortable with than Silverstone. We need to ensure we have a clean race and try to avoid even small mistakes. As we saw in Silverstone going 1km/h above the pit speed limit cost us a minute and not having optimal tyre pressure also cost us time in half of our stints.
“The team has what it takes to finish on the podium and maybe even win the race, we need to execute our plan flawlessly as we did last season in nearly all of the races.”
Spa Race Weekend
Free Practice 1, Thursday April 30 - 14h00
Free Practice 2, Thursday April 30 - 18h30
Free Practice 3, Friday May 1 - 17h00
Qualifying, May 1 - 21h30
6 Hours of Spa, Saturday May 2 - 16h30
(Note: All times UAE)
