Alessandro Latif sets his sights on closing out his maiden Blancpain Sprint Series season in style next weekend (1-2 Nov).

The final two races are staged at Baku in Azerbaijan and while the 18-year-old Londoner has already claimed the Pro-Am Trophy title, Latif and co-driver Marc Basseng, of Germany, are aiming to post a brace of top-10 placings overall.

Both one-hour races are unusually staged on the same day (Sunday) around a temporary 18-corner, 2.721-mile “street” circuit running beside the Caspian Sea that was used for the first time in 2012.

“Baku is definitely heading into the unknown although for some [drivers] it will be familiar as the track layout has not changed much,” commented Latif. “The layout looks very interesting and tricky from studying previous onboard camera footage.

“The grip level apparently changes over the course of the weekend due to it being a ‘public’ road and the extremely cool morning temperatures. I am very excited as it will be the first street circuit I have raced on so again a whole new challenge to tackle.”

Latif gets his first taste of the Baku track on Saturday, taking part in two practice sessions prior to qualifying time trials to determine grid positions for the capacity 30-car field. The opening Qualifying Race is scheduled to begin at 4.15am* on Sunday with the Main Race at 8.55am*.

Alessandro continued: “Marc and I have been working to see why we were off the pace at Zolder and I believe we’ve found some good solutions for Baku. The track is so different to anything that we normally race on, everyone will be starting pretty much from zero in terms of set-up.

“The two races on the same day format will be a challenge for both drivers and teams. For us physically it should be fine but it will be mentally draining. It will also be a huge challenge for the mechanics needing to re-prepare the car in a relatively short space of time between the two races but I’m certain the Phoenix Racing boys will rise to the challenge.”