Khaled al Qubaisi survived the rigours of competing at one of the most challenging motor racing circuits in the world yesterday. The Team Abu Dhabi driver finished 23rd in the Porsche Supercup race at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps track, part of the support series for Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix.
It was a good day all round for Team Abu Dhabi as Sean Edwards won the race, but even though he was more than a minute off the pace of his teammate, al Qubaisi was more than satisfied with his efforts. "It was a big thrill to be able to drive on such an awesome track and I am very pleased to finish a race that was very difficult because of the weather," the Emirati said. "As we were driving to the grid on our formation lap there were spots of rain coming down and we were not sure if it was wet enough to put on intermediate tyres.
"We stayed on slick tyres with everyone else and it turned out to be the right decision as while it was damp, it was not wet enough. "It was hard, though, as you had to be careful. It was wet offline so from the start I concentrated on making sure I finished to increase my experience. "I grew in confidence as the race went on and I actually set my fastest lap of the race on the last lap, which is a very rare thing to happen as usually you do that early in a stint when the tyres are fresh."
Even so, al Qubaisi could not curb his racing instinct completely and enjoyed a lively opening to the race. "I got off the line well and made up three or four places at the first corner, but unfortunately I then ran wide coming out of the hairpin and lost a couple of those positions back," he said. "Then I had a couple of fun battles in the opening few laps, but as I said, I was determined to finish the race and do the full distance so that I could gain as much experience as I could out of the drive because I am still learning."
The 34-year-old was delighted for his teammate Edwards, adding: "It is great for him and the team. We have not had much luck this season and it is great after all the hard work that the team has put in that they have been rewarded with a well-deserved win." gcaygill@thenational.ae