Double victory and new record for Jeffrey Schmidt in Dubai
Jeffrey Schmidt is on the verge of picking up his first Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East champion’s trophy. In the penultimate event of the campaign at the Dubai Autodrome, the Swiss youngster once again emerged as winner in both races. He now goes into the season finale on the Formula 1 circuit in Bahrain (4th – 5th March 2016) as clear favourite for the title with a lead of 26 points.
The second visit to Dubai of the Porsche brand trophy in 2015/16 turned out to be a perfect weekend for Schmidt. After setting best time in both free practice sessions, he claimed pole position for Race 1 by a margin of 0.295 seconds and then easily converted it into a victory. After 14 laps, Schmidt crossed the finish line 4.49 seconds ahead of the runner-up. He again demonstrated his prowess in qualifying for the second race and fended off all challenges from behind. The Al Nabooda Racing driver kept his cool to take the win with 1.551 seconds to spare.
This ninth victory in ten outings constituted a new record. The previous record had been held by Abdulaziz Al-Faisal who won eight of the first ten races in the 2009/10 season. “The weekend was just amazing,” said Schmidt with a big grin. “Two pole positions, two wins and a new record to boot – it doesn’t get much better than that. I want to thank my team – the car was perfect as always.”
But there was even more cause for celebration in Dubai. By scoring maximum points, Schmidt helped his Al Nabooda Racing outfit in their home race to take the team championship ahead of time. Together with team-mate Zaid Ashkanani, Schmidt has built up a now unassailable 105-point lead in the ten races so far.
“Our main targets going into the season were to win both the team and drivers’ championships. I’m very proud to have contributed to the early title win for Al Nabooda Racing with my race victories. The drivers’ championship is now within my grasp, and I’ll be doing my level best to wrap it all up as quickly as possible in Bahrain.”
Schmidt has his destiny in his own hands in the first of the two final races in Bahrain – if he wins, he can no longer be caught in the title chase. And if he scores yet another double victory, the 21-year-old will set a new benchmark in the history of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. Because eleven wins from twelve races would make him the most successful contestant since the championship was inaugurated.
