Oman’s Al Faisal al Zubair and his Spanish teammate Andy Soucek will return to action this weekend, refreshed and rejuvenated, after the series summer break as the duo returns to compete in the fifth round of the 2021 International GT Open at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

The pair will hope to continue their good run from the last round of the International GT Open Championship series at the Imola circuit in Italy in July where the Lechner Racing Team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R crew had secured a podium finish and an outright win.

That Imola success catapulted the crew back into title contention and Al Faisal and Soucek now head to Austria with Soucek trailing the series leading Michele Beretta and Vincenzo Sospiri Racing Lamborghini-driving teammate Frederik Schandorff by just five points.  Al Faisal, who missed the third round in Hungary due to illness, holds third in the points’ standings.

Speaking ahead of the Austria race, Al Faisal said, “I am looking forward to getting back into the car after such a long break. It has been over a month. I really love the Red Bull Ring. I was there in the Porsche Super Cup but have never been there in the GT3 car. It will take some time getting used to but we have practice sessions available and we should be able to get up to speed quite quickly.

“I believe it is going to be a tough weekend. There are a few guest starters but we will have the same focus and the same targets as any weekend and that is to maximise the points.

Hopefully more wins to come, but I am just excited to get back into the car.”

The first of the one-hour practice sessions is scheduled for Friday morning (September 10) and the second stint gets underway in afternoon.

The weekend’s GT Open action is being held in conjunction with the Italian F4 Championship, Clio Cup Europe, Euroformula Open and the Formula European Regional Championship by Alpine.

GT Open entrants will take centre stage for their first 30-minute qualifying session on Saturday. The 70-minute opening GT Open race gets underway with a rolling start later that evening. Second qualifying takes place on Sunday morning (September 12) and the one-hour second race will follow on the circuit later in the day.

Overall standings after round four (eight races): 1 Frederick Schandorff/Michele Beretta (91pts), 2 Andy Soucek (86), 3 Al Faisal al Zubair (68).