MEDIA INFORMATION
PORSCHE MOBIL 1 SUPER CUP
Round 3 – Red Bull Ring, June 29-July 1, 2018
For immediate release
Sunday, July 1st, 2018
OMAN’S AL-ZUBAIR AND AL-WAHAIBI FINISH AUSTRIAN ROUND OF
PORSCHE MOBIL 1 SUPER CUP IN 18TH AND 23RD POSITIONS
· Thomas Preining leads from pole to seal victory in third round of series
· Al-Zubair completes third successive round of Super Cup in the points
SPIELBERG (AUSTRIA): Oman’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and Khalid Al-Wahaibi finished a tricky third round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup in 18th and 23rd positions at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, on Sunday.
Al-Zubair, the Lechner Racing Team Middle East driver who won the 2017/2018 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East had qualified for the race in 19th position and started from 18th.
He completed the 16 laps two places further down the running order, sandwiched between Frenchman Hugo Chevalier and Italy’s Alessio Rovera after damaging his steering early in the race. But it meant that the Omani finished his third successive race of the season in a points-scoring position, showing a level of maturity and consistency in his driving.
Al-Wahaibi started his first ever round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup from 24th of the 32 entrants after moving up a place when the qualifying results were finalised. He made up one position during the race and reached the chequered flag between American Richard Heistand and British racer Tom Sharp after an early collision stopped his overtaking momentum.
Thomas Preining led from pole position to win the 18-lap race that was run over a distance of 68.962km. The French duo of Julien Andlauer and Florian Latorre finished the processional race in second and third positions. Defending champion Michael Ammermüller could only finish in seventh.
Al-Zubair said: “I finished in the points when you take account of the non-registered drivers, but it was not the result we hoped for. There was a lot more pace. We changed the set-up for the race today but we had damage on the first lap. My steering column was bent.
“With that, I guess the result was good but it was not what we were aiming for. It’s a good thing that we have a race next weekend (Silverstone) and I am looking forward to going there and getting the top 10 that I deserve.”
Al-Wahaibi added: “It was a pretty tough race. A lot was happening. I started quite far back because of the disrupted qualifying lap yesterday. I had a really good start and overtook around four drivers off the grid. But, into turn two, I was side-by-side with another driver and I’m not sure if he didn’t look in his mirrors or something, but he just turned in and we made contact.
“That had a big outcome on the rest of the race. I had a bit of damage on the car and it was really difficult to drive. I think it could have been much better after the start we had. I think we were up to P19 at the time of the incident. I’m not too disappointed but it could have been a bit better. It was my first time in the Super Cup and I could see the level of competition straight away.”
Ends
For further information:
Firas Nimri, Tel: + 962 7 7728 2000, E-mail: nimrifiras@yahoo.com.