Jeffrey is champion of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East
Jeffrey Schmidt has done it. The Swiss driver won the championship title with a lead of 29 points at the season finale of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East in Bahrain. “I’m delighted! I wanted to wrap up the championship and did everything I could from the first to the last race,” said Jeffrey Schmidt with pleasure. “To now take the top trophy is just reward for all the hard work.”
Jeffrey Schmidt can look back on a magnificent record in this season’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. The Swiss driver came to dominate the Porsche one-make cup, winning 75 percent of all races with nine victories. Only once did he take the chequered flag outside of the Top Two. Schmidt notched up a series of records in the course of the twelve races, finishing second best driver ever in the history of the series with 267 points.
Schmidt held all the aces at the final race weekend in Bahrain. Third place on the grid in the first race was a good starting position in the battle for victory. He was fourth in the race for a time but fought back. He battled hard with Zaid Ashkanani until the chequered flag to finish only 0.267 seconds down on his team-mate. “It was definitely the hardest and most exciting race of the season. I did not want to pile on too much pressure at the start and risk making a mistake which might jeopardize my chances. I pushed 100 percent in the end to try and catch Zaid but ultimately had to settle for second place.”
All was set for the final race. Schmidt was 24 points clear at the top of the table. A single point would be enough to clinch the title. In qualifying, the Al Nabooda Racing driver again lived up to his reputation as the best qualifier in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and secured pole position – his ninth in the series of twelve races. Schmidt showed his racing acumen when the lights turned green. He only needed one point to win the championship and so, kept well clear of risky scraps. He finished the race in fourth place to wrap up the title in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.
“The weekend in Bahrain did not run exactly to plan. I would have liked to finish with another win, for sure, but I was already well aware that the weekend would be challenging. All drivers always push to the limit in the final race in order to leave a good impression. The title was my main focus, which is why I didn’t undertake any risky manoeuvres. It’s been a long winter with twelve races within the space of four months. This has been the perfect way to finish the season with my championship title win and victory for Al Nabooda Racing in the team standings– a real fairy-tale ending straight from the Arabian Nights.”
