Record hunt continues: Jeffrey Schmidt celebrates double victory in Abu Dhabi
Jeffrey Schmidt is on course for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East title. On the third race weekend of the season at the famous Formula 1 circuit in Abu Dhabi, the Swiss driver once again came away with a double victory. Schmidt remains unbeaten and has a significant lead at this halfway point in the campaign: “Winning here was the ultimate objective, and I am very happy about my first victory of 2016.”
The Abu Dhabi fixture was a busy and to some extent stressful one, with two qualifying sessions and both races having to be completed in just one day. Not a problem, however, for the 21-year-old who had never competed under race conditions at the Yas Marina Circuit before. He claimed pole position for both races, qualifying more than half a second ahead of his team-mate Zaid Ashkanani in the second session.
At the start in the first race in Abu Dhabi, Schmidt had to bring all his experience to bear against opponents who mounted a serious threat to his lead. The Al Nabooda Racing driver succeeded in holding off the challenge of the pursuing pack to celebrate his fifth win in a row: “Victories are a wonderful thing, and the race could not have gone better. However, the real joy of racing is fighting the opposition for every centimetre. I missed that element when I was out on my own at the front.”
In the second race at the Yas Marina Circuit, the Swiss consolidated his reputation as the best starter in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, once again posting a comfortable lights-to-flag victory, the sixth in as many races.
This latest success means that Jeffrey has now matched the record set by Abdulaziz Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia in the 2009/10 season when he too won the first six races of the campaign. The Swiss driver will obviously now be aiming for at least one more victory in the next race fixture to become the sole record holder: “The season has gone perfectly so far, and I’d love to carry on in the same vein. Now we have to stay consistent and focused.”
At the halfway point in the season, the 21-year-old has established a commanding lead in the standings and looks to be on course for the title. Having already scored a maximum points haul of 150 points, he has a 22-point gap on his second-placed team-mate Ashkanani. Al Nabooda Racing are also looking unassailable in the team championship on 278 points.
The action continues as early as next weekend (29th/30th January) when the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East makes the short journey to the Dubai Autodrome. The penultimate event of the Porsche brand trophy will also be staged in Dubai on 19th February, and the season will come to a close on the weekend of 5th/6th March at the Formula 1 circuit in Bahrain.
