The Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing team, led by Khaled Al Qubaisi, narrowly missed out on a podium place and a potential victory at the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season-opener at Silverstone in Great Britain on Sunday after receiving a time penalty.
On Saturday, the team, comprising Al Qubaisi, Christian Reid and Klaus Bachler, had driven their Porsche 911 RSR into third position on the grid during qualifying in the LMGTE Am class.
At the start of the race on Sunday afternoon, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing passed the first two cars on the grid and took the lead, which they held onto for nearly three hours.
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The team appeared in control of the race until they incurred a time penalty for speeding in the pit lane caused by a malfunction with the speed limiter.
“We had a fantastic start, could not have asked for better,” Khaled Al Qubaisi said after the team finished fifth. “We took advantage of the full course yellow flag and led the race for the first half.
“Unfortunately, we picked up a penalty for speeding in the pit land after the speed limiter malfunctioned when Christian was at the wheel.
“This cost us not only a minute but also a full position. To compound matters, the Astons and Ferraris then passed us.”
Despite the disappointment, Al Qubaisi is optimistic of the team’s chances for the season ahead.
“This is only the first race of the season and aside from the malfunction we have had a good start,” he said. “There are seven more races to go with double the points on offer at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. We will try and make up the deficit along the way.”
The next race is the 6 Hours of Spa on May 2.
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