ZAIN REEM INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, SAUDI ARABIA
SAUDI RACING FESTIVAL 4, March 24-25 – 2010
SAUDI ARABIA’S PRINCE ABDULAZIZ BIDS FOR PORSCHE GT3 CUP GLORY
ON HOME SOIL AT ZAIN REEM INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
Race meeting set to feature Zain Lotus Cup and Saudi Radical races
Saudi Oger Cup youngsters aim to continue improvements
RIYADH (Saudi Arabia), Monday, March 22: Saudi Arabia’s Zain Reem international race circuit will host the ninth and 10th rounds of the new Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East races and further rounds of the Zain Lotus Cup and Saudi Radical Championship on Wednesday and Thursday.
The two bill-topping Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East races could also decide the outcome of the inaugural regional championship. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz (118 points) has won six of the eight rounds of the 12-race series so far and taken two second places. Holding his nerve on his local circuit would be enough for the Saudi to clinch the series, which was launched in Bahrain last December. He currently has a commanding 45-point lead over his nearest rival.
The Saudi won both rounds of the championship when the Porsche series visited the Zain Reem circuit in January and is the clear favourite to claim the title. The championship will reach its climax the following weekend with the 11th and 12th rounds of the series at Reem on March 31-April 1.
Prince Abdulaziz’s closest rivals include fellow Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal (89 points), Saudi’s Esai Bandar (81 points) and Bandar Ali Reza (70 points). Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Rashid Al-Khalifa is the leading non-Saudi in the points’ standings in fifth position with 68 points, while Faisal Bin Laden leads the Mobil 1 category for amateur and novice drivers.
The large crowds, who are expected to visit the circuit on Wednesday and Thursday, will also be treated to some frenetic Zain Lotus Cup and Saudi Radical racing. Faher Al-Sharif will be bidding for a third victory in the Zain Lotus Cup Championship in four starts, although he lost out at the last race meeting to Lebanon’s Doumit Bou Doumit, who won a fascinating duel with Abdullah Al-Dossari.
Fellow Saudi driver Saeed Al-Mouri is bidding to continue his domination of the 1.5-litre category of the Saudi Radical Championship. He has already taken three successive race wins, but will face the usual challenge from the Bison Reem Team trio of Raed Abuznada, Medhat Sakhelared and Prince Saud Bin Turki.
Faisal Shaker, Khalil Minawi, Bander Ali Reza and Talal Bin Laden are likely to feature at the top of the 1.3-litre category. Shaker finished fourth of the Radical runners at the last Reem meeting and also clinched the smaller-engined class. Several of the Radical and Lotus runners will also feature in the Porsche GT3 races.
The Zain Lotus race will also feature the all-important Saudi Oger Cup, a new incentive for up-and-coming young local drivers. Mosaed Al-Khwayter and 16-year-old Prince Mohamed Bin Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohamed of the Bison Reem Team have been the stars of the opening rounds and they will renew their rivalry on the challenging circuit on the outskirts of Riyadh. Theab Al-Qatani also featured strongly in a recent race and will be out to match his closest Saudi Oger Cup rivals.
“The addition of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East races has boosted the field for this week’s racing,” enthused HRH Prince Sultan bin Bandar Al-Faisal, CEO of the Zain Reem international circuit. “It would be fitting if Prince Abdulaziz could clinch the first Porsche title on his home circuit.”
The Saudi Speed Festival has received valuable sponsorship from Zain, Saudi Oger, Toyota, Castrol, Bison energy drink and the Saudi Bin Laden Group of Companies, Al-Ghassan Motors and Saudi Radical.
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For further media information:
Zain Reem International Circuit, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bilal Kurjieh, E-mail: bilal@race.com.sa and Abdullah Al-Azem, E-mail: abdullah.alazem@race.com.sa
Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, PO Box 87881, Riyadh 11652, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tel: + 9661 477 1035, Fax: + 9661 477 1050, www.samf.gov.sa
Arabic: Firas Nimri, Mobile: + 9662 777 282000, E-mail: nimrifiras@yahoo.com.
English: Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobiles: + 44 7831 123153 or + 971 50 3616881, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com.