(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Under glorious sunshine at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Al Nabooda Racing's Clemens Schmid was a shining example with a perfect weekend leading from start to finish in Race 2 of Round 3 in the region's most competitive racing series, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.
The second successive victory in as many days gave the UAE resident an even larger lead at the top of the drivers' standings, extending the gap to 10 points from rival at the symbolic halfway stage of the series from Kuwaiti star and defending champion Zaid Ashkanani who finished second today.
Fahad Algosaibi was third with Skydive Dubai's Saeed Al Mehairi fourth and his team-mate Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum fifth.
Just as he did in Race 1, Schmid had a powerful start to Race 2 but was immediately under pressure from his closest rival Ashkanani. Despite a few anxious moments where he almost lost control of the car the UAE resident kept his composure to hold off the Kuwaiti in what was an exciting and close competition.
The victory sees Schmid build a healthy 10 point lead over Ashkanani in the drivers' standings with three rounds gone but three more still to come.
Although Schmid backed up his win in the opening race with another victory it was a lot harder to earn as the Al Nabooda driver explained:
"That was a very tough race for so many reasons but it's the perfect result for me, but more importantly for Al Nabooda Racing as today we won for the team.
"I really struggled to get temperature into the front tyres which made the car slide and hard to control," he added.
"Yesterday's race was a lot easier for me. Today I drifted wide twice but fought had to stay ahead. I could feel Ashkanani closing in but I worked hard and in the end it was a sweet victory," Schmid added.
After starting from fifth on the grid Al Mehairi had a sensational start which saw him and his Skydive Dubai team-mate, Al Maktoum, both jump two places to third and fourth respectively. A mistake in the early laps meant Al Mehairi dropped down to fifth at the expense of his Emirati partner but with just after the halfway stage was able to squeeze past and secure fourth, nearly capturing third.
Speaking after Race 2 Al Mehairi commented: "That was a really good weekend for me personally and for the team. Not only do we have confidence in the car we have real belief that this is where we belong and that we are capable of winning even on tracks outside of Dubai." Race 1 of Round 3 had shown just how important a good start can be and in Race 2 the frontrunners all got away from the start line well. Ashkanani was unable to get passed Schmid on pole and settled in tightly behind the UAE resident on turn one.
The Skydive Dubai duo of Al Mehairi and Al Maktoum had the best start as they moved from fifth and sixth up to third and fourth, with Qatari resident Charlie Frijns right on their tail.
In the early laps Schmid made two slight mistakes allowing Ashkanani to close the gap piling the pressure on the championship leader. Despite narrowing Schmid's advantage in the closing laps Ashkanani couldn't quite get passed his rival and had to settle for second.
Further back in the field the competition between the Skydive duo and Frijns allowed Al Harthy to close in from seventh and also Raed Raffii from eighth, but the pair were unable to challenge the drivers up ahead and finished as they had started.
The region's leading drivers will line-up in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup again as the star attractions at Losail International Circuit for Race 1 and Race 2 of Round 4 on the February 5 and 6.
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