DUBAI — Fahad Al-Gosaibi produced another sensational performance as he finished in second place in Race 1 of Round 5 in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East having led for large parts of the race at the Dubai Autodrome. Bandar Alesayi also secured valuable points for Classic Arabia as he claimed third place in the Silver Category to complete a successful day for the Saudi Arabian drivers. The drivers took to the track in full knowledge that the Round 5 weekend could be the most critical yet as the penultimate of Season 6. With the slightest margins between every spot in both the drivers' and teams' competitions, each race represents a crucial opportunity to gain points in the race to victory. With dirty and dusty conditions threatening to impede the majority of the drivers taking part, Fahad Al-Gosaibi managed to produce a scintillating drive overtaking championship leader Clemens Schmid in the second lap to lead the race. This was the case up until the sixth lap where Al-Gosaibi ran wide and was forced to slow in the dirty track allowing Schmid to regain top spot. Al-Gosaibi recovered well, however, and maintained a good pace for the rest of the race to finish second overall and first in the Silver category. Speaking after race Al-Gosaibi said: “Myself, Clemens or Zaid could have won it to be honest so congratulations to Clemens. It was so dirty on the track and it caused me to slow down slightly allowing Clemens to overtake me. I'm really happy with the result though and having missed half the season already competing for the top spots really does give me so much confidence.” Al-Gosaibi's Classic Arabia teammate and fellow KSA driver Bandar Alesayi ensured it was a day to remember for the Saudi team as he claimed sixth overall and third in the Silver Category guaranteeing more valuable points as the battle for supremacy continues ahead of Race 2 tomorrow. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East returns for Race 2 of Round 5 tomorrow ahead of the final round of racing at the Bahrain International Circuit in April as the support race for the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. Overall standings: 1st Clemens Schmid (UAE) Al-Nabooda Racing (215 points); 2nd Zaid Ashkanani (Kuwait) BuzaidGT (205); 3rd Saeed Al-Mehairi (UAE) Skydive Dubai Falcons (162); 4th Charlie Frijns (Netherlands) Team Frijns (156); 5th Hasher Al-Maktoum (UAE) Skydive Dubai Falcons (147); 6th Raed Raffii (Bahrain) Team Bahrain (126).
