Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Al-Faisal put in powerful display at the 4.29km Dubai Autodrome track in Race 1 of Round 5 to claim a second place finish in what was an action-packed first race of the weekend. After starting back in fourth position on the grid, Al-Faisal had a stunning start, overtaking two cars before dropping back to third. Keeping his focus amidst a plethora of mistakes in front of him, Al-Faisal eventually finished second overall. Younger brother Saud Al-Faisal also had a glorious day on the track, finishing second in the silver category to maintain a comfortable ten-point lead at the top of the overall silver category standings. Speaking after Race 1 of Round 5 at the Dubai Autodrome, Al-Faisal said: "I am very happy, I managed to overtake two cars at the start of the race and then pulled away to maintain third position. Cullen and Schmidt pulled away from me and I worked hard to get as close to them as possible while also stopping Ashkanani from passing from behind. I struggled a bit with the car mid race and tried not to make any mistakes. Then I saw Ryan spin out and managed to avoid him in the middle of the road. This took me into second place and I kept this position until the finish. I'm really happy with the result and looking forward to the next race." Ahead of the hugely anticipated festivities here, the track had been reconfigured to provide drivers and motorsport fans alike with 14 high-octane laps of action — a significant change offering up a shorter and faster track of 4.29km. Already from the morning's qualification it was clear that the drivers would be up for the challenge, with Schmidt able to start the race in pole position ahead of Ireland's Ryan Cullen and Kuwait's Zaid Ashkanani — mirroring the top-three in the driver's standings ahead of this decisive round. With only a handful of points separating Schmidt and Cullen, the stage was set for an intensely competitive race between the two talented drivers and the rest of the pack. Already from the start there were nervous moments with Ashkanani dropping two places by the first bend of lap 1 thanks to a poor start, allowing Abdulaziz Al-Faisal to catapult himself into the podium battle. This set Schmidt and Cullen up for a breath-taking bumper-to-bumper contest throughout the first nine laps, ahead of the pack. With only four laps to go, the scene was set for pandemonium as Ryan Cullen spun out after pushing too hard. The failed maneuver reshuffled the pack and brought Ashkanani back in contention for a podium finish, all but confirming yet another dominant win for the imperious Schmidt ahead of Al-Faisal in second. Race 2 of Round 5 in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East continues later this weekend, when all eyes will be on the battle at the top of the team standings between Saudi Arabia's Al-Faisal Racing and Dubai's Al-Nabooda Racing Team. Regarded as the purest form of racing with all drivers competing in identical fifth generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cups, the unique one-make series consists of 12 races between Nov. 2015 and March 2016. Season 7 concludes at the Bahrain International Circuit between March 4 and 5 March. — SG
