Khaled Al Qubaisi and Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing are gearing up to tread into unfamiliar territory when they travel to South America for Round 5 of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the 6 Hours of Mexico, taking place this Saturday.

Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing, who are just two points adrift of the second-placed team in their category, will be looking to trim that gap at the top in their quest to be in podium contention at the 4.304km Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

Al Qubaisi will share driving duties with David Heinemeier Hansson of Denmark and Partick Long of the US behind the wheel of the No. 88 Porsche 911 RSR.

The team is expecting a tough race physically, not least because the circuit is new but also because of the timezone and high altitude in Mexico City where the Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is located.

And while the challenges will be many, including some tough competition from other teams in the LMGTE Am class, Al Qubaisi and the team will be looking to study the track and find the appropriate setup during the free practice sessions.

Al Qubaisi said: “The circuit is new; and there are not many on board GT footage or simulators available to get to know the track in more detail. We will have two challenges during the practice sessions – getting used to the track and also finding the right setup.

Additionally, we don’t know how the high altitude will affect the performance of the car. So it’s going to be a very unpredictable weekend for us, but we will give it our best.”