With five teams battling for supremacy, Dubai based Al Nabooda racings are currently on 225 points, with a marginal 20 point lead over Saudi Falcons, led by reigning champion Abdulaziz AlFaisal. Team Bahrain have held their own in the competition with two young drivers in their ranks. Mohammed Mattar and Raed Raffii, with the help of 2011 champion, Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa, have compiled 202 points, with Frijns Structural Steel ME and Qatar Gebhardt GT in fourth and fifth respectively.
“We wanted to add extra spice to the championship and make sure everyone fights to the very end. It means every driver is fighting for every available point and putting emphasis on the team’s performance as well as the individuals. From the first six rounds of the season we have already seen how every driver is fighting to finish the race as fast as they can to gain the maximum points for the team,” Walter Lechner, Manager of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, said.
“Three teams are currently in contention for the title, with Al Nabooda having a slight advantage going into the second half of the season. But as with the drivers’ championship, I believe the team title will also go right down to the wire,” added Lechner.
While Al Nabooda Racing have held the ascendency in the standings thanks to the performances of Clemens Schmid and UAE’s Karim Al-Azhari, Team Bahrain have kept the pressure on the top two with some outstanding performances and ensured the points gaps has been within reach.
With Rounds 7 and 8 to be held at the Reem International Circuit in February after the winter break, Mattar and Raffii will be looking to finish in podium positions to gather maximum points before the penultimate rounds of the season.
Raffii, who finished in third place in Round 5 at the Dubai Autodrome, believes collecting maximum points is a fair target for the team.
“We are two confident individuals and we believe we have the capabilities and the talent to gain maximum points in some of the rounds and get the team to the top of the table in the category. We have shown our true qualities in the previous rounds, and with only 43 points separating us from top position, we are quietly confident of overhauling Al Nabooda and Saudi Falcons.”
With the team title and drivers’ standings too close to call, the 2012/13 season is perfectly positioned for a grand finale with six rounds to go.
The series returns for Rounds 7 and 8 at the Reem International Circuit, Saudi Arabia on the 6th and 7th February.