RIYADH – The Saudi Falcons team has stepped up its preparation ahead of the ninth and 10th rounds of the Porsche GT3 CCME Championship in Qatar on Friday and Saturday. The race will take place at the Losail Track and the team is very ambitious to improve on its second position, 19-points behind leader Nabooda Racing. Faisal Bin Laden heads to Qatar upbeat after his best-ever racing weekend early February where he secured two amazing podium finishes. Bin Laden is now in the lead of the Michelin Cup or Silver Category with 129 points, 10 points ahead of second placed Zeid Ashkanani. Bin Laden is fourth in the overall standings, right behind Nabooda's Karim Al-Azhari who has 142 points. Looking at his progress this year, Bin Laden is aiming high. The remaining four rounds will be crucial and will open the opportunity for Bin Laden to close the gap. Red Bull athlete Abdulaziz Turki Al-Faisal, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of the Reem round. Al-Faisal lost the lead in the championship after he was pushed off the track by the young Kuwaiti driver Ashkanani. Since Al-Faisal failed to finish the race at Reem, Clemens Schmid sits in the lead with a 6-point advantage. Al-Faisal is aware that the fight in the last four races will be very tough, but is keen to make up the difference and defend his title. Al-Faisal needs to grab eight points more than Schmid to retain the title. Asked about his views ahead of the race, Bin Laden stated: “I was able to claim the Silver category championship because of God's will and the hard work and training I have put in this season. We enter the races in Qatar aiming to win and to accomplish several other targets. I hope God will hand us and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia his blessings.” Al-Faisal for his part said: “I lost 16 points at the race in Reem. I faced a big shunt and lost the car that I raced in, in the last eight races. Thank God the title fight is not over and I will be pushing hard to retain the title for the second time in a row and for the third time in my career.”
