For Schmid, who became the first overseas driver to win the leading regional one-make series, the Middle Eastern race experience was the perfect preparation for the forthcoming Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series where he will race against some of Europe’s best drivers, including Britain’s Sean Edwards and Alain Menu from Switzerland.
Schmid will drive for Lechner Racing alongside Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East test driver Michael Ammermueller and Germany’s Markus Pommer, who competed in the Qatar rounds in last season’s championship.
The Austrian kicks off his Supercup season on 12th May at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. As well as looking forward to the new car, Schmid will face a world-class grid, including a special guest appearance in Spain by nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb.
Billed as the fastest one-make series in the world, the prestigious Supercup has been a fixture of the Formula One support package since its creation in 1993. The series continues to attract top quality GT drivers and visits all the European Grand Prix weekends, including trips to iconic venues like Monaco, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Eight events with a total of nine races make up the 2013 calendar.
“My preparations for the Supercup could not have gone any better. Winning gives you confidence and momentum for the challenges and to win the GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East championship I had to produce my best and stay focused. The fact that I have been given this opportunity to contest in the Supercup shows a great deal of trust from Lechner Racing. I will work hard to meet the expectations,” Schmid said.
“The European tour is one of the hardest series in the world with some of the best drivers competing on challenging circuits but my time in the Middle East was a good preparation. It certainly won’t be easy to compete against such fast and experienced Supercup pilots, but I love challenges. My aim is to drive in the top five in some of the Supercup races and finish in the top ten,” Schmid, added.
The competition on the Circuit de Catalunya kicks off the 21st season of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and will see 26 drivers from 13 countries making up the flagship series of Porsche’s 20 one-make championships around the world.
Walter Lechner, Manager of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, believes Schmid can only improve by going head-to-head against talented drivers on the European scene.
“Schmid demonstrated his undoubted talent in the Middle East and provided us with further evidence of his future in the sport. The Supercup will give him another challenge and I believe he has the qualities to put on a good show. It will be another step in his development,” Lechner said.
Clemens Schmid will also be one of the first racers to experience the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup based on the 991-type, which was unveiled recently in Barcelona. The 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the motorsport version of the new street-legal 911 GT3 that was shown for the first time at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Schmid believes the new car will make the field more competitive.
“It is a great car with fantastic power. The new gear shifting with the pedals is an impressive introduction, with more down force. It will bring the field much closer and give each driver an opportunity to express their own driving style.”
Schmid’s Al Nabooda Racing team mate Karim Al-Azhari, who knows him better than most, believes the Austrian can only get better.
“For a young driver like him to perform the way he did was commendable. He was up against a champion driver in Abdulaziz AlFaisal and the biggest grid in the history of the series. He remains calm in every situation and has great knowledge of the car. He is a true racing driver. The Supercup will push him to a new level in his performances but I believe he has the skills to shine.”
For Schmid, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge represented an almost perfect season. Picking up first place finishes in nine of the 12 races, he accumulated 276 points out of a possible 300 alongside team mate Al-Azhari. Al-Azhari himself finished third in the overall championship standings, with both drivers performing admirably throughout 12 action-packed races at five of the region’s leading circuits between November 2012 and March 2013.
The fourth edition of the Porsche GT3 Challenge continued as previous seasons, producing fierce rivalries across the grid and truly unpredictable results. With all drivers competing in identical cars, winning and losing once again came down to driver skill.