Abdulaziz Al-Faisal qualifies in 4th

BAHRAIN — Saudi Arabia’s racing stars Abdulaziz Al-Faisal and Saud Al-Faisal are well positioned after opening race qualifying for Round 6 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. Former champion Abdulaziz Al-Faisal, who races alongside brother Saud in team Al-Faisal Racing, has qualified in fourth position and will continue his hunt for a podium position in the overall driver’s title in qualifying. He currently sits just 11 points adrift of third-placed Ryan Cullen and with a maximum of 25 points per race available this weekend. It is still all to play for Al-Faisal. Meanwhile, debutant driver Saud Al-Faisal qualified in eighth position as he seeks to secure a trophy in the silver category. A strong qualifying session saw drivers pushing to deliver their fastest times of the Championship as the weekend sees the curtain close on the 2015-16 season. Each driver will know that putting everything into these last two races of the season could potentially cause upset across all categories in the driver’s standings with results over the previous few rounds leaving things too close to call. Following qualifying, Abdulaziz AlFaisal said: “Qualifying was good this morning, the car feels steady and I am clocking the times I am looking for ahead of Race 1. I was aiming to get myself into the top 4 for qualifying and I am starting the race in 4th position. It won’t be easy this weekend as everyone is looking for a strong performance in the final round but I will push hard from the start and hope to make up a few places early on.” Saud Al-Faisal also clocked a robust time in qualifying this morning, and will start as the front-runner in the silver category in Race 1 where he currently tops the overall drivers’ standings. Regarded as the purest form of racing, every lap and every corner of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East counts. Qualifying is split by hundredths of seconds and racing is pushed to the limits with driver talent and race craft the difference between winning and losing as all drivers competing in identical fifth generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cups. The unique one-make series consists of 12 races between Nov. 2015 and March 2016. Season 7 concludes at the illustrious Bahrain International Circuit on March 4-5. — SG