Austrian Clemens Schmid won Round 7 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Wednesday after edging out Abdulaziz Al-Faisal who still managed to extend his championship lead on home territory at Reem International Circuit outside Riyadh. Starting in pole position, 2009-10 champion Abdulaziz immediately lost his advantage as Schmid made a flying start to take control. While the Saudi driver tried hard to find a way through, he was unable to make any headway, although his consolation was that he moved 10 points clear of his nearest challenger in the 12-round series, fellow-Saudi Bandar Alesayi, who finished third. UAE driver Karim Al-Azhari marked his championship debut with Dubai-based Al-Nabooda Racing with a comfortable fourth place ahead of Saeed Al-Mouri and another Saudi driver, Faisal Binladen. Faisal must have been surprised by his own performance since he had away for the last two years studying in London. The Saudi Falcons owner linked up with teammates Abdulaziz and Saeed Al-Mouri on the circuit where he clinched the top rookie's title in the championship's first season. After spinning off the track on lap two and dropping to the back of the field, Qatar's Saadon Al-Kuwari fought back to take eighth place and retain his lead in the Michelin Silver Trophy standings from Swiss Armin Schmid who finished just ahead of him. A double win at Reem, where Abdulaziz won six out of eight GT3 Cup races, would have given him an almost unassailable advantage, although he still can get the most out of Thursday's race. Two final race weekends are yet to follow in Qatar and Bahrain next month.
