Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud

Early life and education

Prince Abdulaziz was born on 4 June 1983 in Riyadh. He is the second son of Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the brother of Faisal bin Turki Al-Faisal and a grandson of Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

He claims he learnt to drive at nine years old. His father allowed him behind the wheel of a grey Nissan Patrol, which he drove around in the sand.

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. He also graduated from the Formula BMW school in Bahrain in 2005.

Motosport career

Abdulaziz bin Turki's early motosport career includes the following races:

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. 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.

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.

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.

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

Racing career summary

His racing career summary is as follows:

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)

Racing career highlights

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. 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. Abdulaziz finished 3rd among 44 cars on the starting grid of Round 4.

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.

See also: 24 Hours of Le Mans

Awards and recognition

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.

Abdulaziz bin Turki was named as ambassador for Road Safety in Shell's 2013 road safety programme in Saudi Arabia.