Oman motorsport: Confident Al Faisal Al Zubair heads to Belgium for Porsche Super Cup rounds

Spa: A positive recent test session has given Oman’s Al Faisal Al Zubair confidence heading to rounds seven and eight of the prestigious Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup at Belgium’s famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.
The notorious 6.973km circuit that is hosting the weekend’s Belgian F1 Grand Prix will also host two 30-minute Porsche races on Saturday and Sunday, as the Lechner Racing Middle East team driver aims to add to the points he has scored at three of the six races run so far this season.
“We carried out a test at Spa, a one day test and it was very positive,” said FZ Racing’s Al Faisal.
“But it was a wet session, so I am not sure how the forecast will be during the race. If we have dry conditions, it will be my first time driving in the Porsche in the dry at Spa, but I think the wet conditions will give us a very good feeling. The time was very competitive and I feel that is a good way to learn a circuit. Now I am prepared for it.
“I have finished in the top 15 for the last few races and we finished in the top 10 at the last one, so I am going to try my best to be in the top 10 again in Spa and get more points for the championship.”
German driver Michael Ammermuller arrives in Belgium with a 14-point lead over Dennis Olsen in the points’ standings, with Daniel Cammish in third and Matt Campbell and Robert Lukas rounding off the top five.
Al Zubair climbed from 17th to 14th in the main championship after his Hungarian performance and moved up a place to seventh in the rookie standings.
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit lies in the vicinity of the town of Francorchamps within the municipality of Stavelot in the forests of Ardennes and has undergone numerous revisions and improvements over the years. Formula One returned to the circuit in 2007.
In a hectic schedule on the renowned Belgian circuit, Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup runners will get their first opportunity to practice for 45 minutes from 1800hrs on August 25.
The 30-minute qualifying session is scheduled for 0900hrs on Saturday morning and the first of the weekend’s two races will take centre stage over 11 laps or 30 minutes from 1835hrs on Saturday evening. Race two gets underway at 1125hrs on Sunday morning.
Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup Overall Standings (after round 6): 14. Al Faisal Al Zubair 14 pts.
Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup Rookie Standings (after round 6): 7. Al Faisal Al Zubair 14 pts.