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Khaled Al Qubaisi is confident of bouncing back from a big setback in the countdown to this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans where he is set to carve another place for himself in the record books
The Emirati was forced to sit out Wednesday night’s first official qualifying session after team-mate Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki AlFaisal spun and crashed into the barrier during official practice earlier in the day.
While the Saudi driver was unhurt, the Dunlop Ferrari 458 Italia was too badly damaged to allow Al Qubaisi, the first UAE driver to compete at Le Mans, Abdulaziz and their Italian team-mate, Andrea Bertolini, to take part in the evening qualifying session.
The damaged rear half of the car’s chasis was being replaced today by a new part which arrived overnight from Italy, and mechanics were working to get the Ferrari ready for tonight’s two remaining two-hour qualifying sessions.
“Conditions were very difficult because it had been raining and parts of the track were drying out, and others were still wet,” said Al Qubaisi, who is sponsored by Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) and supported by Abu Dhabi Racing.
“I drove to begin with and was out for about 45 minutes, and then Abdulaziz took over and was doing well. Then suddenly the car spun, slid across the grass and hit the barrier quite hard.”
“We lost two hours of practice as well as qualifying so we’ve lost four hours of track time overall. Before the accident our pace was good and the car was fine, so hopefully we will have no more problems when the race starts.”
When the race gets under way on Saturday afternoon, the biggest concern for the Emirati will be the constant pressure from the mighty LMP prototypes which dominate the epic endurance race, and the knowledge that a split second loss of concentration could end his challenge abruptly.
“Our maximum speed is about 300kpm, but the LMP cars fly past at 350kph, and the biggest challenge is to be aware of where they are, especially during the night,” said Al Qubaisi.
His JMW Motorsport team is entered in the GTE Pro class, which is for cars adapted from production models and contested by the world’s top sports car brands.
“Obviously, I would love to do well this time, maybe finish in the top ten in our class, and then come back next year and go for a podium finish,” said Al Qubaisi, also supported by Etihad Airways. “This is as good and as tough as it gets in GT racing, and that puts a lot of pressure on you. It’s so important not to lose concentration for a moment.”
This weekend sees Al Qubaisi creating a piece of motor racing history for the second time in just over 18 months. In January 2012 he became the first UAE driver to be part of a winning team in the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai, returning 12 months later to repeat the feat.
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