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ME: Series Abu Dhabi II preview
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East set for another pulsating race weekend at Yas Marina Circuit Qubaisi learns lesson the hard way in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi. Khaled Al Qubaisi says he has learnt a valuable lesson the hard way as he ...
Published: Feb 15, 2010, 6:08 AM
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Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East set for another pulsating race weekend at Yas Marina Circuit
Qubaisi learns lesson the hard way in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi. Khaled Al Qubaisi says he has learnt a valuable lesson the hard way as he preprares to return to action in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, at the weekend.
The Abu Dhabi driver was determined to make an impression when his home circuit staged the fifth and sixth rounds of the new Porsche one-make series earlier in the month but suffered a double disappointment.
A collision with Saudi Arabia's Prince Khalid Al Faisal dropped him to the back of the field in the first race and 24 hours later he was forced to retire after grabbing a shock early lead.
"I didn't stick to my race strategy, and that was a mistake," said Al Qubaisi, who overtook championship leader Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal on the first lap in Round Six but was soon back in the pits after making three excursions off the circuit.
"I'd planned to get in behind Abdulaziz, track him for as long as I could, and get away from the pack, but I found myself a lot closer to him than I expected and when I saw a chance to get past him I took it.
"The problem was I underestimated how much pressure there is when you're in the lead, and that's when I started making misjudgements, with the result that I degraded my tyres. It was my mistake, but you learn from things like that."
Sponsored by Michelin and Mobil 1, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East returns to Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday and Friday as part of a race weekend featuring the V8 Supercars Championship.
After successive race victories in Abu Dhabi last time out following three wins in the previous four rounds, Prince Abdulaziz holds a 27-point lead in the 12-round championship from Prince Khalid.
His cousin and team-mate is the only other race winner so far in the series, but Bahrain's Sheikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa will be determined to change that at the weekend.
The 2005 Formula BMW Asia champion is the most experienced driver in the series and boosted his hopes of a first victory in the championship when he won pole position for Round Five. But he was pressured into a mistake by Prince Abdulaziz who went on to win the race comfortably and sat out Round Six after feeling unwell.
-source: gt3 cup challenge me
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