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Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal Extends Championship Lead with Win

Al Faisal Racing Team’s Prince Abdul Aziz, who had finished second in Race 1 on Friday, won Round 8 after getting past pole-sitter and Race 1 winner Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa. Prince Abdulaziz piled on the pressure which forced the former BMW Asia champion Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa into a mistake. Shaikh Salman, who went down in history as the first ever race winner at the Yas Marina Circuit when he won the Supercars Middle East Championship round last November, slide wide on Lap 10 in the 13-lap race and Prince Abdulaziz got past him to take the chequered flag.

Prince Abdulaziz finished with a time of 26:19.932 seconds, followed by Shaikh Salman in second, with a timing of 26:23.747 seconds. Bandar Alesayi was third with a time of 26:34.355.

With his nearest challenger in the title race, cousin and teammate Prince Khalid Al Faisal, crashing out of contention on the day, Prince Abdulaziz increased his lead in the new one-make Porsche series to a massive 45 points.

Prince Abdulaziz leads the championship with 156 points followed by Khalid Al Faisal on 111 points. Bandar Alesayi is third with 109 points. Prince Khalid tried to apply pressure on third-placed fellow Saudi driver Bandar Alesayi, but instead lost control on lap seven and slid sideways into the crash barrier.

Like Abu Dhabi’s Khaled Al Qubaisi, who had spun off two laps earlier, he was forced into the pits and the pair were dropped to the back of the field.