Schmid and Al Azhari hope to build Nabooda’s lead in Qatar

The Austrian Schmid will take a 27-point lead into the event at the Losail International Circuit after having won four of the opening six races.

Clemens Schmid has won four out six races for Al Nabooda this season. Lee Hoagland / The National

DUBAI //

Clemens Schmid is confident he can extend his lead in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East series today when he takes to the track for Round 7 of the season in Qatar today.

The Austrian will take a 27-point lead into the event at the Losail International Circuit after winning four of the opening six races in his Al Nabooda Racing car.

“It’s going to difficult,” the defending champion in the series said.

“Because the level of competition is so high now and the gap between most of the leading drivers is so narrow.

“But we know what we’re capable of and have a great team behind us so we’ll be looking to get the right results at Losail.”

Schmid is also hoping that he and his Emirati teammate Karim Al Azhari can boost Al Nabooda’s hopes of retaining their teams’ title, with their advantage in that championship currently at 38.

“Karim and I haven’t spoken a lot about the weekend, but the plan is very simple,” said Schmid. ‘We want to extend our lead in the team championship, and ideally we’d like to score a one-two finish in both races to get maximum points.”

The eighth round of the season takes place tomorrow, before the championship returns to Dubai Autodrome for two races on February 14-15.

The season climaxes with the final two races of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit on March 7-8.