Jeffrey Schmidt delivered when it mattered with victory at the Dubai Autodrome to retain his lead at the top of the driver’s standings in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.
The Al Nabooda Racing driver desperately needed to win yesterday after a disastrous opening race of the fourth round of the championship on Friday when he was forced to retire following a collision with his team-mate Zaid Ashkanani leaving Ryan Cullen to take a surprise victory which blew the race for the title wide open.
Cullen’s victory left him just one point adrift in the title race which meant Schmidt needed a victory to keep the Irishman at bay.
The fact that this was a home race for Al Nabooda Racing provided extra motivation for UAE-based Schmidt and he bounced back in appropriate style.
He started from second on the grid behind Qatar’s Charlie Frijns who led Schmidt and Adulaziz AlFaisal into turn one.
However, on the second lap Frijns’ brakes locked up going into the first corner, causing him to run wide and Schmidt was quick to pounce and take the lead.
From there Schmidt took control of the race and pulled away with a fierce battle for third developing behind the two leaders.
Schmidt’s Al Nabooda Racing team-mate Ashkanani piled the pressure on AlFaisal whilst trying to keep the fast advancing Ryan Cullen at bay.
On the third lap Ashkanani’s persistence and pressure paid off as AlFaisal ran wide which allowed him to get past and he was followed through by Cullen to leave them in third and fourth place respectively. Cullen, enjoying another impressive race, continued to pressurise Ashkanani and as soon as he saw a gap he took the opportunity and moved up into third place.
As the second half of the race wore on Schmidt continued to dominate and extended his lead while AlFaizal continued to fight hard for fourth in an absorbing battle with Ashkanani who managed to hold him off and retain his place.
Schmidt took the chequered flag, winning by one of the most comfortable margins so far this season and re-establish his lead over Cullen, who finished third, in the championship. Frijns was second.
Speaking after the race Schmidt said: “I feel really good. Everything fell back into place today and for me that’s how it should be.
“It was a really hard day for me and the team so it was nice to get a victory and give something to all the people that came out to support me and the Al Nabooda Racing team.
“It was so important for me to take points from this home race so I am pleased with the performance and hopefully the next round here will be just as good as today’s race.”
It was a particularly successful Round Four for Cullen who came into this weekend trailing Schmidt by 26 points which has now been cut to just five.
In what will go down as one of the most exciting stages of the seventh season of the championship Cullen proved he is a true challenger for the title.
Kuwaiti star Ashkanani remains in third place in the title race ahead of Saudi Arabia’s AlFasal. Al Nabooda Racing lead the team standings by 86 points ahead of Saudi’s AlFaisal Racing.