Abudlaziz Al Faisal survives dramatic battle with Salman bin Rahid to take lead in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East

Saudi’s Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal scored his second victory in three races in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East today as the series created motorsport history in the Kingdom.
 
Prince Abulaziz fought off a tremendous challenge from Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifah to win the third round of new one-make Porsche series which went into the record books as the first FIA sanctioned international circuit race to be held in the Kingdom.
 
Their thrilling start-to-finish battle over 15 pulsating laps provided a fitting international debut for the demanding Reem Circuit outside Riyadh, and underlined the fact that Middle East motorsport has found an exciting new race spectacle.
 
Jubilant at the finish, Prince Abdulaziz pulled off his helmet to say: “My lips are so dry after all that, I can hardly speak. I knew that Sheikh Salman was faster than I was at turn one and turn four but I was faster on the S bends.
 
“I tried as hard as I could to maintain a distance between us but it was so tough. He was amazing. Competition like this brings out the best in you and this showed today.”
 
His victory gave Prince Abdulaziz the outright lead in the 12-round championship. The other podium place went to 16-year-old Fahad Algosaibi, with fellow Saudi drivers Bandar Alesayi, team-mate Bandar Alireza and Prince Khalid Al Faisal completing the top six.                   
 
 
Making a guest appearance, Lebanon’s Nabil “Billy” Karam finished at the back of the field after a spin on the first corner and will be looking for a much improved performance in tomorrow’s (Thursday) fourth round.
 
Round three results:
 
1. Abdulaziz Al Faisal (KSA), Al Faisal Racing Team                        21:57.551
2. Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa (BAH)                                              21:58.672
3. Fahad Algosaibi (KSA), Algosaibi Travel Racing                            22:04:506
4. Bandar Alesayi (KSA), Reem Racing Team                                  22:06.808
5. Bandar Alireza (KSA), Reem Racing Team                                   22:07.165
6. Khalid Al Faisal (KSA), Al Faisal Racing Team                              22:07.268
7. Raed Abuzenadah (KSA), Reem Racing Team                            22:17.830
8. Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE), Tolimit Racing                                       22:18.408
9. Faisal Binladen (KSA), Reem Racing Team                                  22:24.038
10. Jaap Vaandrager (NL)                                                                   22:48.200
11. Nabil Karam (RL) Karam Rally Team                                          23:01.051