Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud

Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud (born 4 June 1983) is a Saudi athlete and a businessman as well as a member of the House of Saud.

Early life

Prince Abdulaziz was born on 4 June 1983 in Riyadh.^[1][2] He is the second son of Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the brother of Faisal and a grandson of King Faisal.

He reported that he learnt to drive when he was just nine years old. His father allowed him behind the wheel of a grey Nissan Patrol, which he drove around in the sand on his uncle's farm.^[3]

Education

Abdulaziz bin Turki graduated from King Faisal School, Riyadh, in 2000. Then, he studied politics at King Saud University from 2001 to 2003. Next, he continued to study politics at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 2003 to 2006. He studied marketing at College of Business Administration (CBA), Jeddah beginning in 2006 and graduated in 2010.^[1] He also graduated from the Formula BMW school in Bahrain in 2005.^[3]

Early motosport career

Abdulaziz bin Turki's early motosport career includes the following races:^[4]

• Formula BMW racing centre race series (2005 – 2006): (Contested) One race, one pole position, first place.
• Formula BMW racing centre race series (2006 – 2007): Eight races out of nine, four pole positions, four wins, finished third on the championship.
• Speed trip 7 Bahrain (2006 – 2007): Second overall autocross championship.

Motosport career

In 2010, Abdulaziz bin Turki participated and won several places in the following races: Radical Masters AUH round: 2nd Place; Porsche GT3 CCME Champion 9 wins and 12 podium finishes.^[5] The races he participated in 2011 are as follows: 24h Dubai Race with Saudi Falcons, 5th place; Lotus T125 F1 testing in Abudhabi; Porsche GT3 CCME 2nd overall with Most fastest Laps and Most Pole positions; 24h LeMans Official Testing with Porsche Factory Support Team; Hungaroring BMW Z4 GT3 testing; FIA GT3 Championship – 1st place in Algarve Portugal with Team Need for Speed by Schubert Motorsport.^[1]

Abdulaziz bin Turki won the championship title in the first GT3 European championship round organized in the Algarve international circuit in Portugal in May 2011. He came first with his co-pilot Edward Sandström on a BMW Z4 on the Need for Speed Schubert team. With this success, Abdulaziz Turki became the first Saudi to participate and win a GT3 European championship race.^[1]

His most frequent co-pilots were Edward Sandström (6), Nick Tandy (2), Bryce Miller (2), Bret Curtis (1), Sean Edwards (1) and Spencer Pumpelly (1) until 2012.^[6]

The Saudi Falcons, led by him, did not participate in 24H Dubai 2013 due to several technical problems.^[7]

Racing career summary

His racing career summary is as follows:^[8]

Races entered: 19; Wins: 23; Podiums: 48; Pole positions: 16; Fastest laps: 19; Race win percentage: 29.11% (Data updated as of 25 March 2013)^[8]

Racing career highlights

• Le Mans 24h with Porsche RSR Factory Support Team, 2012
• Winner of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Me Championship for the second time, 2012^[1]
• Fourth in 24H Dubai race, 2012^[1]
• Third in ADAC GT Masters Round 4 in June 2012^[9]
• Second in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, 2010–11.
• Second in 24H Series, A5 2010.
• Middle Eastern Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champion 2009–10.
• Third in Formula BMW Bahrain 2007.^[8]

See also: 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship season

See also: Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship

ADAC GT Masters

Abdulaziz bin Turki was the only Arab driver racing in the ADAC GT Masters in June 2012, one of the world’s biggest GT3 championships.^[10] He achieved a significant success during his first participation in one of the most important GT3 races of the ADAC GT Masters, Rounds 3 and 4 of the championship at Sachsenring circuit in Germany with Schubert Motorsport Team in June 2012.^[9] Abdulaziz finished 3rd among 44 cars on the starting grid of Round 4.^[9]

See also; ADAC GT Masters

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Abdulaziz participated in Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Sean Edwards and Bret Curtis in June 2012. They managed to qualify the #75 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR a remarkable second in the Pro-Am category in the race.^[11]

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2011	Team Felbermayr-Proton	Bryce Miller Nick Tandy	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	GTE Pro	169	DNF	DNF
2012	Prospeed Competition	Bret Curtis Sean Edwards	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	GTE Am	180	DNF	DNF
2013	JMW Motorsport	Andrea Bertolini Khaled al Qubaisi	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	GTE Pro	300	34th	10th
2014	JMW Motorsport	Seth Neiman Spencer Pumpelly	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	GTE Am	327	27th	7th
2015	JMW Motorsport	Kuba Giermaziak Michael Avenatti	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	GTE Am	320	36th	7th

See also: 24 Hours of Le Mans

Awards

APSCO, dealer of Mobil 1 oil in Saudi Arabia, presented an honorary shield to Abdulaziz bin Turki - the leader of the Saudi racing team - at Reem International Circuit in Riyadh in 2010. The award was in recognition of achieving record achievements including winning nine times the first position of Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship, which was held over a period of six months on the most famous Arab racing circuits in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE, as well as winning the title of the first edition of this championship. APSCO was a major sponsor of the championship.^[12]

Recognition

Abdulaziz bin Turki named as the ambassador for Road Safety in Shell's 2013 road safety programme in Saudi Arabia.^[13]

References