MEDIA INFORMATION
PORSCHE MOBIL 1 SUPER CUP
Round 4 – Silverstone, July 6-8, 2018
For immediate release
Sunday, July 8th, 2018
MIXED FORTUNES FOR OMAN’S AL-ZUBAIR AND AL-WAHAIBI IN
DEMANDING PORSCHE MOBIL 1 SUPER CUP RACE AT SILVERSTONE
· Rookie Florian Latorre claims first ever Super Cup win at Silverstone
SILVERSTONE (ENGLAND): Oman’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and Khalid Al-Wahaibi suffered mixed fortunes in the fourth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup at a baking hot Silverstone circuit on Sunday lunchtime.
Al-Zubair of the Lechner Racing Team Middle East team had enjoyed a useful qualifying session and lined up in 11th place. He was running in 11th and 12th for much of the race until the safety car came out on the circuit and Al-Zubair was hit from behind by an Italian rookie driver after the restart. His Porsche GT3 spun and Al-Zubair eventually reached the chequered flag in a disappointing 27th position.
Al-Wahaibi lined up on the grid in 21st and made his way through the field in impressive fashion to finish the 13-lap race in a fine 15th, the result netting the youngster his first Super Cup points on only his second race in the championship.
With several guest drivers finishing ahead of the Omani and not registered for points, it was an even more fruitful weekend for Al-Wahaibi in terms of championship points.
Rookie Florian Latorre used his pole position to maximum effect to snatch a stunning first ever Super Cup victory. The Frenchman finished 0.301 seconds in front of defending champion and series leader Michael Ammermüller of Germany. Mattia Drudi rounded off the podium places while Larry ten Voorde and Nick Yelloly completed the top five.
Al-Zubair said: “It was a bad race I guess. Looking at the positives, I had a top 10 pace and we were running 11th or 12th for the whole race and then, after the safety car restart, I got hit from behind by the Italian driver Gianmarco Quaresmini. It was 100% his fault and he came to me and admitted that. I could do nothing about that. Qualifying was good. I am feeling confident. I was inside the top 10 but I am annoyed that I did not get the result that I deserved in the Super Cup.”
Birthday boy Al-Wahaibi added: “It was not such a bad day for me at all – to finish in the points on my birthday. It was quite a good race. It was a case of avoiding mistakes and trying to keep it together. A lot of drivers were locking up, probably because of the heat. I tried to stay with the pack. I had contact on lap three and I think that damaged some of the race for me. I had a lot of vibrations going down the straights and it was difficult.
“It was a case of managing the tyres to the end. We could have finished a bit higher up the grid, but I am really happy with P15. It’s in the points. Hopefully we can continue this and improve on the next rounds. I would like to qualify a bit higher on the next race to try and avoid all the mid-field mayhem.”
Action in the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup resumes at the Hockenheim Grand Prix circuit in Germany on July 19-21.
Ends
For further information:
Firas Nimri, Tel: + 962 7 7728 2000, E-mail: nimrifiras@yahoo.com.