Thursday 14 / November / 2024
Muscat: Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 racer Ahmad Al Harthy says he cannot wait to be back competing on UK soil on May 14 and 15, when the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Cup takes place at the home of British motorsport – Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.
Following an extremely strong start to the 2016 season last month at Monza in Italy, where the Omani and teammates Jonny Adam and Devon Modell secured a top four Pro-Am finish for the Oman Racing Team powered by Motorbase, hopes are high of another competitive challenge just a few days from now.
Ahmad certainly starred at Monza with, undoubtedly, one of the best drives of his career as he scythed his way through from sixth in Pro-Am, and 13th overall, into second in class and the outright top six prior to the first round of pit-stops at the conclusion of his stint.
Buoyed significantly by that performance, the 34-year-old from Muscat is determined to keep the No. 44 Aston Martin – the only Aston in the championship this year – in among the battle for Pro-Am podium success.
“Monza was a very good way to start the season, the team did a fantastic job with the car and Jonny, Devon and I were able to be very competitive,” said the Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Air, National Bank of Oman (NBO), Barr Al Jissah and Omantel-backed racer.
“We’ve gone very well at Silverstone in the past, winning in British GT a couple of years ago, so I’m very pleased to be back.”
Silverstone is a venue Ahmad has good experience of – in recent years in Blancpain Endurance and the British GT Championship and also, in the past, in categories such as Formula One support series, the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup.
Ahmad, of course, spent almost his entire racing career to date competing on UK race tracks, having first arrived on British shores in 2007 in Formula Renault. Following podium success there, he made the switch to Porsche Carrera Cup GB racing in 2010 and became Pro-Am 1 Champion in 2012.
British GT graduation followed where Ahmad became a race winner in his first season. In 2014, the Oman Racing Team won the British GT Team title and last year Ahmad claimed the ‘Silver Cup’ title with six class wins. In short, the Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador has a strong affinity with British motorsport.
“The UK has been such a huge part of my career and it’s fantastic to be back racing at Silverstone this weekend”, said the Omani, “We always have wonderful support from the British fans and I’m hopeful we can be in a position to fight for the Pro-Am podium. It’s obviously the home race for the Motorbase guys too, hopefully it’ll be one of the highlights of our season.”
