Doha: The stars of Austria’s FC Red Bull Salzburg left the familiarity of the football pitch behind yesterday to join Red Bull athlete and Saudi Falcons team driver, Abdulaziz Al Faisal, at Losail International Circuit.
Al Faisal, who will race in this weekend’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East in Doha, got behind the wheel of the QD-SBG sponsored GT3 Cup car to propel the players around the 5.38km track.
Reaching speeds of up to 240km/h, the players were treated to the ultimate thrill ride and given a sneak peek into the upcoming weekend’s action.
Peter Gulacsi, FC Red Bull Salzburg player, said: “We are here for our training camp in Doha. This afternoon we came here to Losail International Circuit to experience something new with QD-SBG and Porsche GT3 cars and I can say on behalf of all of us that it has been a brilliant experience. Seeing these car from the outside is a scary thing but sitting inside is just an unbelievable experience and feeling. It is a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. We’ve spent an amazing 10 days in Doha at Aspire Sport Center with great facilities.”
The roles were reversed earlier today when self-confessed football fan Al Faisal joined FC Red Bull Salzburg for a training session at Aspire Academy where the Austrian Bundesliga stars, who are currently topping the league table, have been training this week.
Abdulaziz Al Faisal, who goes into this weekend’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East races third in the overall standings, said: “Football has always been one of my great passions – second to motorsport of course. Keeping fit is important to us as drivers so it was great to do something a bit different and train with the team this morning. They work very hard and I was really impressed by the facilities at Aspire.
Now my focus is on the next round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and with a podium finish in Doha at the last round, I’m going into the race feeling confident. We’ve raced the track twice this month so everyone is feeling a bit more familiar with it and I’m sure there will be some fast times posted this weekend.”
The Peninsula
