Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing are all systems go after clearing the mandatory technical checks ahead of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Round 3 of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
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Ahead of the scrutineering, the team comprising of Khaled Al Qubaisi, German Christian Ried and Klaus Bachler of Austria participated in a test day to fine tune the set-up of their Porsche 911 RSR
The test day consisted of two sessions of four hours each, but intermittent rainfall meant the conditions were not particularly conducive to driving, with many teams, including Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing, unable to take full advantage of the sessions.
Al Qubaisi said: “Initial forecasts indicated sunny conditions but there were unpredictable showers for a full hour. We decided to stay in the pits as the track conditions weren’t dry enough for slicks and not wet enough for wets. So the team decided to wait until the last hour of the session when the track was in better condition.”
The Abu Dhabi native added: “Conditions were better in the second session but still not fully dry. I only managed five laps before the rain started pouring down again.
“We did not manage to find the best set-up for race day. We did manage though to get a feel of driving on the circuit again and get the car safely back to the garage after several hours,” added Al Qubaisi.
Competing in the legendary race for the second consecutive year, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing finished second in class LMGTE AM last year and will be hoping to again be on the podium come Sunday afternoon.
Apart from the Le Mans campaign, Al Qubaisi is also competing in all eight rounds of the WEC for a second year running, once again backed by Emirates Global Aluminium and Emirates Airways.
While the team from Abu Dhabi finished third in class behind Aston Martin Racing last season but are currently in fourth spot after two rounds, 12 points shy of thirdplaced SMP Racing. A podium at Le Mans could well catapult them third.
