DUBAI — Kuwait's Zaid Ashkanani secured his first race win in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East with victory in Race 2 of Round Two at the Dubai Autodrome in what was the closest contest of the series' fifth season so far. Starting from pole on the 16-car grid, Ashkanani produced a scintillating performance that defied his age to lead from the start, despite immense pressure from reigning champion Clemens Schmid. Al-Nabooda Racing's Schmid almost snatched victory on the final lap but the Kuwaiti kept his cool to cross the line first with Saudi Falcons' Abdulaziz Al-Faisal coming in third. Following his victory by 0.913 seconds Ashkanani said: “It was a tough race and I was concentrating as hard I could right until the very end. I learned a lot from yesterday's sessions.” Skydive Dubai Falcons duo of Sheikh Hasher Al-Maktoum and Saeed Al-Mehairi improved on their performances from race 1 in front of a sizeable home crowd. Sheikh Hasher, starting sixth on the grid battled his way through the traffic to finish fourth, while teammate Al-Mehairi finished tenth. In what was undoubtedly the most exciting race of the season so far which saw positions change frequently, Ashkanani continued his impressive start to the season to keep the experienced Schmid at bay throughout; the Austrian coming closest to a pass on the final lap. Schmid saw an opportunity to undertake the race leader but Ashkanani closed the door on his opponent.
As the top two battled it out, the competition in the middle was absorbing. Faisal Binladen, starting fourth on the grid, found himself second on the opening lap of the race, overtaking teammate Al-Faisal, but fell back to finish ninth. Christina Nielsen fought her way through the traffic and resisted the constant challenges of Team Bahrain's Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa and Binladen. The trio interchanged positions on a regular basis with Nielsen finishing fifth and Al Khalifa sixth. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East heads to the Losail International Circuit, Qatar for Round 3 on Jan. 17 and 18, 2014. — SG
