(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A Formula One weekend. Thousands of spectators at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir and hundreds of thousands watching the action around the globe.
It is a stage on which Oman's Al Faisal al Zubair is set to hog the limelight as he is on the cusp of his maiden overall title of the 2017-18 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East Series after finishing fifth in round six of the challenging series at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain on Saturday.
Oman's Al Faisal al Zubair leads during round six of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East race in Sakhir, Bahrain, on Saturday
It was double delight for young Luxembourg driver Dylan Pereira, who followed up with his Friday's win with another dominant show to win on Saturday. Championship leader Tom Oliphant came second while Al Faisal's fifth-place fetched him 17 points to leave him trailing Oliphant (215) by mere two points with two more races to go on April 7-8, the F1 weekend.
Charlie Frijns of the Netherlands is overall third with 192 after finishing third in round six while Great Britain's Glynn Geddie is fourth with 146 points.
A total of 50 points will be at stake in the final two races, which means Al Faisal needs a fifth-place finish or above in the next race to clinch the title.
On Saturday, Al Faisal was given a five-place grid position penalty for colliding with Oliphant on Friday. Qualifying in fourth, Al Faisal saw his penalty drop him ninth on the grid and with a lot of work to do.
Following a poor start due to congestion ahead of him into turn one, the Omani star climbed up the grid, position by position, over the 12 laps to finish in fifth.
Speaking after the race, Al Faisal said, 'The start of the race was tough today. The aim was to try and push up into the top five while at the same time be a bit conservative.
'I needed to finish the race to put myself in the best position for taking the title. For the next round, I just need to be consistent and finish as high as possible to win the championship.'
Al Faisal continued to lead the GCC championship with his countrymate, Khalid al Wahaibi second and Bahrain's Isa S al Khalifa at third among ten racers.
Khalid, who was unlucky to be forced out on Friday, qualified in 13th, and came up with a vastly improved show to clinch the third place in Silver category and eighth overall.
Khalid is also leading the Rookie championship with 117 points and is followed by South African Saul Hack with 106.
The 17 year old Khalid is placed overall seventh and with two more races to go, he has set his sights on a top-five finish. Sweden's Magnus Oehman is overall fifth with 128 while Dylan Pereira, who missed the early season's five races, is sixth with 119.
'I have been improving as the season has been progressing and I am hopeful of a strong finish in the final two races in April.
'The collision on Friday did not help me earn points but such incidents do take place in racing. This being my debut season, I am happy to be learning with each race.'
Speaking after his final race this season, Oliphant said, 'I finished on the podium, I made some good moves and ended the race, which is an improvement on Friday. I'm frustrated not to be racing in the final rounds. But I've had a successful season, improved a lot and I look forward to returning in the series.'
Overall standings [top ten]: 1 Tom Oliphant (215), 2 Al Faisal al Zubair (213), 3 Charlie Frijns (192), 4 Glynn Geddie (146), 5 Magnus Oehman (128), 6 Dylan Pereira (119), 7 Khalid al Wahaibi (117), 8 Christoffer Bergstroem (112), 9 Saul Hack (106), 10 Isa S al Khalifa (101).
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