Porsche Mobil 1 Super cup: Al Faisal Climbs to Ninth After Stewards' Decision

FZ Racing's Al Faisal al Zubair was the biggest beneficiary of the stewards inquiry into round six of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Hungaroring circuit in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday.

Following the inquiry, Al Faisal, who competes for the Lechner Racing Middle East team, moved from 12th to ninth place. It was the first time that Al Faisal, who is making his debut in the Supercup series, has managed to break into the top ten.

Al Faisal started the sixth round race after qualifying at 12th spot, but dropped to 15th in the opening lap, after his 911 GT3 Cup car was hit by a rival.

By the fourth lap, Al Faisal was up to 14th and maintained the track position until the tenth lap, when he moved up a place further after MRS GT-Racing’s Zaid Ashkanani’s retired.

Al Faisal soon made his way to the 12th spot and was battling with guest driver Thomas Preining for 11th, which he managed to take from the Porsche Junior driver, in the 12th lap.

But Preining regained the 11th position on the penultimate lap, as Al Faisal despite recording his best result in the rookie season, finished a mere 0.885s behind Preining.

With Preining not eligible to score points, Al Faisal effectively finished 11th.

However after the stewards enquiry, post-race penalties led to the disqualification of eighth-placed MRS Cup-Racing’s Roar Linland, and time added to tenth-placed Martinet by Alméras’ Steven Palette and 11th-placed Preining, which paved the way for Al Faisal to climb to ninth - the best result so far for the Omani driver.

“I am very happy to hear the results from Hungary race have been changed,” said Al Faisal. “In the race, I felt some of my rivals deserved the penalties for over-aggressive driving, especially at the start.”

“P9 out of 30 cars is an amazing result for me in my debut Supercup season. It is the first time I am in the top ten and that too in only the sixth race of the season. I am pleased with the result, which is much more than we expected at the start of the season.”

“I am getting stronger and stronger as the season progresses. Hopefully, more of such results will come my way in the last three rounds of the 2017 season.”

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racing action resumes with a double-header at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium from August 25-27