*** ----> Frijns, Schmidt star in GT3 Cup practice | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Frijns, Schmidt star in GT3 Cup practice

In the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, Charlie Frijns and Jeffrey Schmidt got the 2015/2016 season off to a positive start with Frijns topped the first practice timesheet while Schmidt was the fastest man in practice two.

In practice one, Frijns had a best lap of 2:06.877 to claim first place and a narrow (+0.146) behind was Irishman Ryan Cullen of Cullen Motorsport, while Al Nabooda Racing’s Zaid Ashkanani (+0.250secs) of Kuwait was third.

The Team Bahrain pairing of HH Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa both had solid runs. Shaikh Isa was 11th from 15 with a fastest lap of 2:09.588 while Shaikh Jaber followed in 14th with a 2:10.670 lap.

In practice two, it was Schmidt’s time to shine, and he did not disappoint with a fastest lap of 2:05.399. Frijns was ranked behind (+0.192) while in third was Cullen (+0.251) adrift. Shaikh Isa was this time in the top 10, classified ninth with a best lap of 2:06.788 while teammate Shaikh Jaber was 14th with a 2:09.439 lap. The GT3 Cup will get Friday’s events underway with qualifying one at 10.10am and qualifying two at 2.25pm.