Al Nabooda Racing turn to defence in Porsche GT3 Cup title chase

Dubai. After dominating the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East for the first half of the 2012-13 season, Al Nabooda Racing will switch briefly into defensive mode to stay on course for a team title triumph when the series returns to action in Saudi Arabia next month.

Clemens Schmid and Karim Al Azhari are placing the emphasis on minimising risks in Rounds 7 and 8 of the 12-event championship which take place at the tricky and demanding Reem International Circuit outside Riyadh on February 6-7.

They head for the Kingdom holding a commanding 20-point lead over their nearest challengers, the Saudi Falcons, who will be aiming to use home advantage to reduce the deficit.

“It will be our biggest challenge because it’s the home circuit of our closest rivals, so we will be on the defensive to try and minimize any point’s loss to them,” said Al Azhari.

“We have a strong lead coming into the second half of the season meaning we don’t need to take risks at Reem, or push too hard. We’ll need to be patient, not force the situation and, avoid panicking if the Saudi Falcons are stronger on home territory.”

Saudi hopes rest chiefly on the shoulders of defending champion Abdulaziz AlFaisal, who leads the drivers’ championship thanks largely to a third round mechanical failure which put Schmid out of the race.

Schmid’s four race victories to AlFaisal’s two, however, suggest that he holds the upper hand for Al Nabooda Racing, and his team-mate believes they are well on course to bringing the Porsche GT3 Cup team crown to Dubai for the first time.

“As a team we are very satisfied with first half of the season,” said Al Azhari. “We are of course leading the championship which is a fantastic place to be. We did suffer that one setback at Yas Marina Circuit which robbed us of team points, and cost Clemens the lead in the drivers’ title race.

“Hopefully, we’ve had our share of bad luck this season now and we’re very much looking forward to returning to Saudi, even though we know we’ll be under pressure. For the last four rounds, though, it will be a level playing field, and we can afford to be aggressive. We should fight for wins and to occupy the podium as much as possible.”

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, team standings:

1. Al Nabooda Racing 245pts

2. Saudi Falcons 225pts

3. Team Bahrain 202pts

4. Frijns Structural Steel ME (QAT) 93pts

5. Gebhardt Motorsport ME (QAT) 56pts