Porsche 911 RSR (88), Abu Dhabi Proton Racing: Khaled Al Qubaisi, Patrick Long, David Heinemeier Hansson
Nürburgring (GERMANY), July 25, 2016 – An incident filled round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the 6 Hours of Nürburgring in Germany, potentially denied Khaled Al Qubaisi and Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing a podium finish. The team finished the race 4th in class and now turn their attention to a new addition on the WEC calendar, the 6 Hours of Mexico on September 3.
Al Qubaisi was sharing driving duties with David Heinemeier Hansson of Denmark and Patrick Long of the US behind the wheel of the No.88 Porsche 911 RSR.
The Emirati team had put in a remarkable performance the previous day, coming from behind to take pole position during the qualifying session. However, on race day several incidents hampered progress and it did not help that the No.88 Porsche 911 RSR was hit from behind by an LMP1 car when the team was well placed in P2 in LMGTE Am class.
Khaled Al Qubaisi said: “A race to forget really, especially as we had the pace to win it. Apart from all the incidents, our car caught fire during the second pit stop but the crew handled the situation very well. And then of course the LMP1 car hitting us from the back on a fast turn made matters worse for us.
“We are 4 th in the championship on 68 points, just two points behind the second placed team. There are still five more rounds to go, so plenty of races to try and move up the standings.”
Patrick Long added: “Sometimes you push as hard as you can but the results are not there.We have to put this disaster behind us very quickly and focus all out energy on the next race in Mexico City.”
FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams
1/ AF Corse (Ferrari) 111 points
2/ Aston Martin Racing (Aston Martin) 70
3/ Larbre Competition (Corvette) 69
4/ Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (Porsche) 68
5/ Gulf Racing (Porsche) 50
6/ KCMG (Porsche) 44
