BAHRAINSPORTS
APRIL 2014
BEST OF ‘EM ALL
Thumbs-up for Ashkanani.
Below, the race in progress
ASHKANANI
CHAMP!
K
uwaiti youngster Zaid Ashkanani defied the odds to be crowned the new
champion of the Porsche GT3 Cup
Challenge Middle East.
Ashkanani scooped up the title by the
narrowest of margins after finishing third
in the second race of the season’s sixth
and final round, held at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
BIC is the home base of the Porsche
GT3 Cup.
Ashkanani secured his crown by a
single point over defending champion
Clemens Schmid.
Schmid has had a dominant season
with seven race victories, but a horrendous penultimate round in Dubai lost him
some valuable points, and Ashkanani was
able to take advantage.
“I’m really happy, but I also feel really
tired,” a speechless and visibly relieved
Ashkanani said following the final po-
dium ceremony of the season, where he
was joined by winner Schmid and runnerup Charlie Frijns.
Ashkanani finished the season with
245 points, including four race wins.
Former champion Prince Abdulaziz
Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia followed Schmid
on the final rankings with 224 points for
third place overall.
An Emirati trio rounded out the top
six, with Karim Al Azhari in fourth with
186 points, and Saeed Al Mehairi and
Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum in fifth and
sixth, respectively, with 181 points apiece.
All six drivers were competing in the
Gold category, which featured 17 drivers.
Bahrainis Mohammed Mattar and
Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa both
placed in the top 10.
In the Silver category, Antonio Giancola of Italy managed to come away with
SEASON RACE WINNERS
n Round One: Bahrain International Circuit
Race 1: CLEMENS SCHMID
Race 2: CLEMENS SCHMID
Round Two: Dubai Autodrome
Race 1: CLEMENS SCHMID
Race 2: ZAID ASHKANANI
n
n
n
title, also by the slimmest of margins.
Giancola completed the season scoring 99 points, capturing the crown just
two points ahead of overall runner-up
Hannes Waimer of Germany.
Former World rally champion and
living legend Nasser Al Attiyah of Qatar
finished third with 70 markers.
Al Nabooda Racing Team were
crowned champions of the teams category after finishing a dominant season
with 426 points. The Saudi Falcons came
second, although were well behind the
leaders, with 361 points. Sky Dive Dubai
were third, and Team Bahrain fourth.
The Porsche GT3 Cup cars will be
back on track one last time this season
with an exhibition round held in support
of the 2014 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, taking place April 4-5-6
at BIC. THE GAME
Round Three: Losail International Circuit
Race 1: CLEMENS SCHMID
Race 2: ZAID ASHKANANI
Round Four: Losail International Circuit
Race 1: CLEMENS SCHMID
Race 2: CLEMENS SCHMID
n Round Five: Dubai Autodrome
Race 1: PRINCE ABDULAZIZ AL FAISAL
Race 2: ZAID ASHKANANI
n
Round Six: Bahrain International Circuit
Race 1: ZAID ASHKANANI
Race 2: CLEMENS SCHMID
sports magazine t h e g a m e
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