Al Zubair sets sights on Bahrain circuit

Dubai: Fellow countrymen Al Faisal Al Zubair and Khalid Al Wahaibi have their sights firmly set on Round 5 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, with Al Zubair knowing that another strong weekend of racing will see him close in on his second consecutive Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East title.
With 11 of the 16-race season complete, Al Zubair sits comfortably in first place on 263 pts, 41 points clear in the overall standings ahead of Berkay Besler of Turkey in second (222 pts). J.B. Simmenauer of France sits behind him in third (178pts). If Al Zubair wins all three races in Bahrain, he’ll go into Round 6 knowing that victory is all but his.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Al Zubair said: “I go into Round 5 feeling confident and refreshed after a nice break following Round 4. Round 4 was a hard round but it was a good experience coming up against an in-form Dylan Pereira. He pushed me hard and it’s made me go into Round 5 not taking anything for granted. It showed how competitive the series is and how every driver can pose a threat on their day.”
Al Wahaibi sits in 5th place on 173 points, 4 points behind the USA’s Michael de Quesada in 4th (177pts) and will know that a strong weekend of racing could see him leapfrog the American into third place going into the final round in Bahrain at the end of the month.
Looking ahead, Al Wahaibi said: “Round 5 is always one of the most important of the season. If I perform well, I’ll be in contention for a top three finish, but I’m also aware that a poor weekend of driving can see me slip down the table, leaving a lot of pressure on me to perform well in the last round. I go into Round 5 feeling confident after another decent weekend of racing in Abu Dhabi.
The Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is back this weekend for Round 5 at the iconic Bahrain International Circuit, 8th and 9th March 2019. Racing gets underway with Race 1 at 14.00hrs on Friday, followed by Race 2 at 13.25 and Race 3 at 16.35 on Saturday.
Round 6, the final round, is an official support race to the 2019 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in March 2019, the only regional racing series to do so.