Jaber on track for GT3 title

Manama : A strong performance today and result means the experienced Bahraini driver has kept his hopes alive of winning the driver’s title in the bronze category of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Season 7 when the season concludes today at his home circuit of Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

After technical complications early on in qualifying, Jaber still managed to put an impressive lap time on the board to qualify in tenth position. After battling it out for several laps with Qatar-based rival Rob Frijns, the Bronze category leader Jaber gave up the game of trading positions to settle for a respected and tactical second place. The veteran motorsport star will now concentrate on landing the prestigious title and silverware in the season’s final race today.

After the race Jaber Al Khalifa said:“ The race was really good, I had a strong start, I didn’t want to push the car too and for me the most important thing was finishing the race and getting the points in the bag. The car locked up a few times on the corners so I backed off a little and held my position behind Rob Frijns, the points from finishing second in my category today is good for my overall goal and as long as the car stays in good shape for tomorrow then we are looking good.”

At the front of the race, Al Nabooda Racing of Dubai dominated the top two steps on the podium in the opening race of the final round which saw Zaid Ashkanani win from teammate Jeffrey Schmidt second and Qatar’s Charlie Frijns in third.

Ahead of Jaber on the track rivals Al Nabooda Racing endured some anxious moments as their two drivers battled for supremacy at the front. But it was exactly the outcome the team champions would have dreamt of. Both teammates eventually safely returned their cars ahead of rivals and Ashkanani starred to claim a well-deserved first race win of the season. 

Qatar’s Frijns who started the race on pole finished a credible third after battling hard against the Al Nabooda Racing drivers on a sunny afternoon.

Despite the disappointment of not adding another race victory to his tally the result means Schmidt’s strong performance in second sees him take one step closer to the overall driver’s title. With only one race remaining the young driver in his debut season in the series remains a healthy 24 points ahead of Ashkanani in second and Ryan Cullen third in the standings.

Yesterday’s result means that Schmidt will be crowned champion today regardless of what happens ahead of him if he can avoid disaster and finish anywhere in the points in the final race.