Prince Abdulaziz scores Porsche GT3 Cup win as Salman retains series lead
Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal cruised to a comfortable victory in Round 6 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East today while Bahrain's Sheikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa retained his championship lead in dramatic style at Reem International Circuit outside Riyadh.
After claiming pole position for the second day in succession, Prince Abdulaziz led from start to finish and eventually won by 18 seconds to atone for his setback 24 hours earlier when the defending champion could only manage fourth place.
But the real drama unfolded behind him as Sheikh Salman survived a spin on the first corner which dropped him to fifth position and eventually snatched second place from Abu Dhabi's Khaled Al Qubaisi in spectacular fashion on the final lap.
That was the climax of a breathtaking race-long battle for the podium places which changed hands several times as Salman, Al Qubaisi, teenager Fahad Algosaibi and Saudi's Bandar Alesayi fought for every inch on the twisting Reem circuit.
After climbing from third to second place with a brilliant start, Al Qubaisi held on to that position until half way through the 18th and final lap when first Alesayi threatened to move past him before Sheikh Salman squeezed ahead of them both.
He now takes home a six-point lead over Prince Abdulaziz to carry into Rounds 7 and 8 at Bahrain International Circuit on February 18-19.
-source: pcc me/totalcompr
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