The pilots of ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ Sean Edwards, Sascha Maassen and Khaled Al Qubaisi finished the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race weekend in Valencia on positions 5, 9 and 19. Team manager Michael Seifert is “generally satisfied”.

It was a comfortably quiet race weekend which ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ faced at the 4th round of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Valencia. Although especially Sean Edwards and Sascha Maassen weren’t fully happy with their qualifying performance, the race result was completely favorable with view to the team success. “This weekend, a good team result was the most important thing for us“, says team manager Michael Seifert.

With little restrictions, Porsche old-hand and former works driver Sascha Maassen was satisfied with his race: “It could have gone better in qualifying. There is a high performance density in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup which means that it is very difficult to catch up positions during the race. The starting place is vital. Unfortunately, I made one or two smaller mistakes and had to start form position 9”. After some duels at the start and the end of the race, the experienced pilot also finished on position 9. „Other than that it was a very satisfying weekend. Especially with view to the team standings.

The Briton Sean Edwards agrees with his team mate: “A weekend without penalties and other issues. I wasn’t able to perform 100 per cent, as the braking balance of the car didn’t fully work out. But the race result today is a success.” The 23-year-old also unfortunately had some smaller mistakes in qualifying. Starting from position 4, he lost another position to Jaap van Laagen due to dismantling tyres, however, was able to stand the pressure from other competitors successfully.

Khaled Al Qubaisi however, wasn’t able to stop grinning after the race: “I am absolutely happy. The Valencia race track has become one of my favourites this weekend. I am very happy that I was able to gain more experiences on a street course and as well in dueling with competitors. Again I had a great start and was able to catch up five positions. Later I fought among others with former Supercup champion Alessandro Zampedri. It was very exciting.”

Team manager Michael Seifert thus doesn’t have a reason to complain: “The clear strategy for this weekend was to gain points for the team standings. All pilots abided to that strategy and held back in critical situations. With view to the race season so far, this was extremely important for us. Now we look forward to the Porsche Carrera Cup race weekend at the Norisring. The track offers the same conditions than Valencia. We want to at least repeat this weekend’s result.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps sums up: “We promised our partners from Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Windreich AG, aabar and Deutsche Post AG to gain some good results. And we managed to keep the promise. Now we can work on that and continue to improve.”

The next race of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will take place in Silverstone, England, on July 11, 2010.

Sean Edwards was able to bring his Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed 911 GT3 Cup undamaged through the starting collisions to defend his starting position of 4th but had to cut a chicane in order not to collide with competitors. And although the cut did not bring him any advantage, the stewards decided to fine him with a drive-through penalty.He moved upto 3rd place and held this position for the whole race whilst the team fought the stewards over the decision. But it was to no avail, four laps from the finish he had to serve the penalty and dropped down the order to 10th.

“In the starting turmoil, I didn’t have any other chance than to cut the chicane. I don’t understand the penalty, as the move didn’t bring any advantage. Nevertheless, the stewards told us before the race that they would immediately fine, especially in the first laps. And I have to accept it if I like it or not. Silly things have cost us three podiums over the last three races, so our bad luck is now over and we will deliver a good result in Carrera Cup”

Sascha Maassen from ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ battled through with clutch issues at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race in Monaco – an issue which hampered his winning ambitions when it led to a drive-through-penalty for a jump start. Team mate Sean Edwards was also penalised with a drive-through and eventually scored 10th position. Khaled Al Qubaisi achieved a respectable 22nd position in his first showing in the Principality.

Widely acknowledged as the ‘tight race specialist’, Sascha Maassen showed his competitors in qualifying why he is fully deserving of the title after he secured a second placed qualifying spot – his best performance so far. However, at the race start his 911 GT3 Cup moved off the line too early, resulting in a jump-start penalty. “The jump start was caused by some problems with the clutch I had throughout the whole weekend. Obviously, it looked as if the endurance racer had starting problems. That’s of course annoying,” said the team’s most experienced driver.

For sure, his premature start was noticed in race control. The following damage limitation resulted in a short engine break-down. After some additional turbulence in the first curve, he re-joined the field in position seven. The serving of his penalty finally resulted in him finishing 19th.

Khaled Al Qubaisi, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Emirati rookie, also went through a turbulent race: “It was my first start in Monaco and my ultimate ambition was to stay out of trouble… which I managed to do. Nevertheless, the race was very confusing. There were a lot of rule breaches around me, which were quite irritating. I don’t have a lot of experience on street races so I am looking forward to the race in Valencia to help build confidence.”

Team manager Michael Seifert commented on the race weekend with mixed emotions: “We started into the race with a lot of expectations. We worked hard, the sun is shining despite of a rainy weather forecast. Now we leave with the swallow of another bitter pill. Of course, Sascha wanted to show a good performance. Unfortunately, the clutch put a spoke in his wheel. Sean had to accept a severe penalty for the second time in a row. From Khaled, we only expected him to stay on track and to manage the 107% rule this weekend. It was his first entry in the tight street course so we are very pleased with his improving performance throughout the weekend.”

Technical director Paul Schlotmann added: “Let’s see it positively: we are happy that all cars are undamaged. In the short period between Barcelona and Monaco, the whole team pushed the envelope of burden. The result that we expected after the qualifying performance would of course have been motivating, however, I am sure that we will get our chance to show our performance.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps commented: “All good things come in threes. All bad things obviously, too. Monaco is of course always a special race in which many unforeseen things can happen. Drive-through penalties of course don’t belong to the anticipated ones. The whole team does a lot of hard work, for which we unfortunately have not been rewarded so far. I would like to thank our partners from Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post and Windreich AG, who all were on site to cross their fingers for us and to go with us through all ups and downs.“

The next Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race takes place on June 27, 2010 in Valencia, Spain.

Sean Edwards from “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit“ stood on top of the podium in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race in Barcelona, however, was set back to position 12th due to a retrospective penalty. Sascha Maassen thus achieves position 11. Khaled Al Qubaisi ends up on position 14 and registers his first championship points.

The penny has dropped, however, also in Barcelona the race result of the “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit“ drivers still does not show the true performance. Sean Edwards was considered being one of the front-runners for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup European season opener and achieved the result that complied to his performance –in the unofficial race standings. The stewards’ decision to impose a 25 second penalty on him means the officials deprived him of the victory.

In free practice as well as in qualifying, the 23-year-old clearly marked his territory with position 2. “I am pretty sure to also find the 0.3 seconds that are missing to the pole sitter”, was his comment after the timed session. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have another clear lap in the end.”

The race started perfectly for the young Brit and he immediately set himself upfront. In the following 14 laps, he delivered some great race action in his battles against the runner-off Jeroen Bleekemolen. A true racing feast for the spectators’ eyes at the “Circuit de Catalunya”.

The battle came to a head in the last two laps, when Jeroen Bleekemolen managed to get passed Sean Edwards. In the following counter strike, Bleekemolen closed the door and the “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” pilot was not able to prevent the contact. „I am sorry that I collided with Jeroen, but he didn’t leave any room any more. We had a captivating fight in the race. That was great. Unfortunately, my tyres lost grip, as I pushed a bit too early in the race. The stewards decided afterwards, that my contact would have been avoidable and gave me a 25 second penalty, which was too much. But I have to accept this decision of course.”

Edwards’ obvious disappointment was quickly allayed by the team’s backer Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). “This is what the sport is all about – the ability to deal with set-backs and move on to future triumphs,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA.

Sascha Maassen was dogged by bad racing luck. After the change of the differential lock on his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup after qualifying, the balance of his car was performing as expected. Starting from position 14, the 40-year-old, however, had to evade colliding competitors and was in the end pushed into the gravel from behind. “All of a sudden, you start it all again – from the back”, was his comment with a grim sense of humour. Due to the following catch-up, he finished the race on position 11. “All in all, I caught up 10 positions. The car feels better with the new differential lock. Many thanks to the whole team, who did everything to convince the Porsche race organisation that a change was necessary.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi, the third pilot of “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” experienced a truly unleashed race. The “king of the race start”, as he is called in his home country Abu Dhabi, was fully complying to his nickname and caught up five positions in the race start. “It was a great race for me. The start was perfect. In the race itself I most of all tried to hold the speed and keep out of the collisions in front of me.“ With a constant performance, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup “rookie” managed to capture position 12, however finished on position 14 due to a smaller driving mistake. “I am not only very confident, but absolutely happy. I was able to reduce the gap to the front constantly during the weekend. Furthermore, the result means my first two championship points.”

“Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” team manager Michael Seifert comments: „It is absolutely annoying. Our performance is good, however, also this time it is not shown in the result. The battle between Sean and Jeroen was captivating and in the end unfortunate for us. Sean did not want to send him off track, however, there was no other chance. Sascha is still dogged by bad luck. For Khaled we are very happy. The result means the first championship points for him and he was able to close the gap to the top. That’s a great result for him.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps adds: „At first, the weekend showed the results that we are able to achieve. This confirms not only us in our team composition, but also the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post and Windreich AG in partnering with us. That we had to step back from the top of the podium in the end is to be regretted. But that’s racing.”

Sascha Maassen, Sean Edwards and Khaled Al Qubaisi from Abu Dhabi Team by tolimit finished their first two races in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season 2010 on the positions 7, 8 and 20 as well as 9, 15 and 21.

It was the first liaison of a newly assembled team: Sascha Maassen, for a long time endurance racing specialist, Sean Edwards, sprint race talent and Khaled Al Qubaisi, who is on a mission to fulfil his dream of racing with his start in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Supplemented by a new team of mechanics and engineers, a package that gives hope for a successful season.

Qualifying ended up with Sean Edwards on position 11th and 8th, Sascha Maassen on position 10th and12th and Khaled Al Qubaisi on position 25 and 24th.

Sean Edwards made a great start in race one and worked his way through the field, closely followed by his team mate Sascha Maassen. He got all the way upto 6th position and was closing in on reigning champion Jeroen Bleekemolen, but with only 2 laps to go his rear tyres had nothing left to give, leaving him helpless against the cars behind. “It was undrivable really, I had so much oversteer in the last two laps it was like a drift challenge! So I lost two places on the last lap unfortunately, but still got 8th.” Commented Edwards after the race.

He was unlucky in the second race, when he got caught up in a crash between Siso Cunill and Jan Seyffarth, resulting in a spin which put himself at the end of the field in 24th. With some thrilling overtaking manoeuvres, he battled his way upto position 15 again! As Salman Al Khalifa is a guest starter, who finished the race in front of him, he will get the points for 14th position. “I wasn’t able to keep myself out of the trouble, when Cunill and Seyffarth hit each other, but I had a good fight back through the field and would like to thank Team Abu Dhabi for all their hard work this weekend and we will be testing before Barcelona so we can be right up the front this time.”

Sascha Maassen comments: “I am pretty satisfied with my 10th qualifying position. Eventually this is my first sprint race for some years.” In the first race, the former Porsche works driver worked himself constantly through the field up to position 7. In the second race, he provided a lot of thrilling entertainment in his multiple fights for positions with Zampedri, Bridgman and Huisman. “I can’t remember how often we overtook each other,” the pilot says with a smile.” For the spectators, it must have been a good show.” In the end, this meant position 9 for the 40-year old. “That’s ok at first. However, I am sure that I will get more used to the sprint format again and be able to push forward.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi is also satisfied with his results: “My qualifying session was ok. In each of the races I was able to overtake some of my competitors at the start. I still need more experience, however, I am sure, that I am able to learn a lot this season, especially from my team mates Sascha und Sean.”Position 20 and 21 leave the 35-year old race driver from Abu Dhabi content.

Team chef Michael Seifert assures: This was a good start for a newly assembled team. Now we have to keep up the good work, establish some routines and make the next step in the next race in Barcelona. I am sure that we can catch up to the teams of Lechner Racing, MRS and Konrad. We look forward to it”.

Tolimit general manager Hans-Bernd Kamps is also satisfied: “The team has shown that it has the potential for being successful. I am pretty sure that we can better the results quite quickly”.

The team representing the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority at the 2010 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup announced its driver combination for 2010 during its annual Pit Stop Party. tolimit has chosen three drivers, creating a combination of experience, internationality and ambition.

Sean Edwards is an ambitious talent in motorsports and is particularly well known for his good performance in FIA GT2 /GT3 and in the Porsche one-make cup series.  The 23-year-old Brit was the 2006 champion in the FIA GT3 European Championship. In 2007, he completed his first 24-hour race in Spa, earning him third place on the podium along side Sascha Maassen, his new teammate.

He has already notched up two victories in Porsche one-make cups during his first season on the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2008, and was named the “Best Rookie of 2008”. The Brit, who currently resides in Monaco, discovered his love of GT sport when testing a Porsche GT racing car at Silverstone. “I am looking forward to the new season of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. As part of Team Abu Dhabi, I have an experienced racing team behind me, so we are hoping for many successes on the track. I will give my best to try and win the championship. We haven’t had time for any testing, so it’s important to score some good points in Bahrain and we can then start to properly attack in Barcelona, but I will be trying all I can to get the best possible results in Bahrain.””

Sascha Maassen is returning to tolimit and the Porsche one-make cup after eight years’ absence.  Following many successes in international GT and prototype sports, such as the LMP2 class championship in the American Le Mans Series 2006, he has been drawn back to the 911 cup. “I am already excited about the high level of competition in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Many good racing drivers are taking part and I hope I will be able to provide a few good surprises.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi, a 35-year-old businessman from Abu Dhabi, has been supported and trained by tolimit Motorsport since the middle of the 2009 season. The friendly Arab took part in his first Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race in 2009 in the inaugural race at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, wearing the colours of his country. He is focused on fulfilling his dream. Before he became involved with tolimit Motorsport, the fast car fan had never driven a racing car. To develop his talent by gaining experience, the father of four is currently lined up for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, which will hold its final race on 1st April. “Although I have only ever driven fast street cars until the middle of last year, I have been able to learn a lot so far with the support of tolimit. It is important that I gain even more experience.” The friendly Arab?s ambitions to become successful are modest: “If I pass the 107 percent hurdle in the qualifying round and then win a point in some of the races, I will be a very happy man”.

The head of Team Abu Dhabi, Michael Seifert, is confident: “We will have a say in the battle for the podium places in the 2010 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Sean is a true one-make cup specialist, Sascha has a wealth of experience and Khaled has developed in leaps and bounds over the past six months. I am looking forward to an exciting season.”

Tolimit’s managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps is proud: “We have put together a completely new team, consisting of Michael Seifert, Paul Schlotmann, Wolfgang Knobloch and an experienced team of technicians. I am very proud that this year, we were able to combine all of tolimit?s skills and potential in one team. With this package, we will certainly be able to start the season with confidence. Together with our partners, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post, wetfeet and IPIC, we are fully revved up for 2010.”

Typical for tolimit: The team starts off the year with a combination of motorsport know-how and marketing skills. Professionalism across the board paired with enthusiasm for racing.