Double joy for Schmidt

Manama : Jeffrey Schmidt of the UAE driving for Al Nabooda Racing in a time 20 minutes 52.530 did the double this weekend with his second win after winning race two yesterday in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East as an exhibition support race to the Gulf Air Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. Schmidt again started second on the grid and moved into first place very early the 10-lap 53.874km race and never looked back.

Schmidt who recorded the fastest lap on the third (2:04.173) at a speed of 156.903k/ph displaced fellow Al Nabooda Racing driver and teammate Zaid Ashkanani of Kuwait who finished second overall despite spending most of the race in third and only getting the runners-up spot on the final lap and had starting first on the grid, based on each drivers second fastest lap in the first race.

Ashkanani finished 8.700 seconds behind Schmidt, though he had some luck at the end as Charlie Frijns (Ned, Frijns Structural Steel ME, +9.122) seemed to have engine trouble on the last lap with thick blue smoke visible, which appeared to slow him down, he had to settle for the third and final podium place after chasing Schmidt from the
start.

Fourth to sixth places went Stefan Rosina (Svk, Lechner Middle East Racing, +16.588), Wolfgang Triller (Ger, TriSpa Racing, +18.729), and Faisal Binladen (KSA, Saudi Falcons, + 27.467) respectively.

Rounding out the top eight were Magnus Ohman (Swe, Mtech, + 28.368) and Bahrain’s Hamad Al Khalifa (+34.759).

Bahrain’s Jaber Al Khalifa (Team Bahrain +38.215) came in 10th of the 11 finishers, while three others including Bahrain’s Isa Al Khalifa of Team Bahrain who did not finish after completing six laps.

The Porsche GT3 Cup is the most professional and successful one-make GT series in the region and calls BIC its home track.