Omani single-seater star Ahmad Al Harthy produced unquestionably the best performance of his motor racing career at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Sunday, 11th October, to become 2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Vice-Champion…by just a single point!
On an outstanding day for the Hathersage-based Hillspeed team, the 28-year-old from Muscat took a brace of podium finishes – his fifth and sixth rostrums of the campaign – and coupled with the bonus points for posting the fastest lap in rounds 12 and 13 of the season, Al Harthy overcame a very tough challenge from three other rivals to end the year as championship runner-up.
Team-mate James Theodore also capped-off the season in great style by finishing in the top six in the driver standings with a season’s best result of fourth in the first race of the weekend and an additional sixth place finish in race two. The Liberty Properties-backed driver also ends the year as the third highest placed category rookie.
Furthermore, the talented Shropshire 17-year-old posted the third fastest lap of the race in round 13 to ensure Hillspeed wrapped up the championship with the distinction of having the quickest driver combination in the final outing of the campaign. This was in addition to Al Harthy and Theodore posting the fastest and second fastest laps in the opening encounter – a stunning performance.
“It’s been a fantastic end to the season for us”, said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “The last two meetings have been exceptional for Ahmad and James, we’ve given them both a good car and they’ve used the package to its full potential. We’ve had numerous podium visits and some fastest laps too this year, all in all we’re very happy indeed.”
In qualifying on Sunday morning, Al Harthy produced two superb laps at the end of the 20-minute session to claim third on the grid for both races while Theodore – who had set the pace for the first half of the period – ended up fifth fastest to secure a pair of third row starts.
Prior to the start of round 12, rain made track conditions very tricky and at the beginning of the race Al Harthy got away well to move up from third on the grid into second although Dino Zamparelli took the place back into the complex under braking.
At the end of lap two Al Harthy and Josh Mulholland both passed Zamparelli into Club Chicane and after becoming embroiled in a tight battle themselves, the Oman Air, Oman Tourist Board, Sultanate of Oman and Oman Air-backed racer won out with a tremendous move around the outside into the chicane to cleanly take second spot from Mulholland.
Slipping back to third on lap four, Al Harthy was soon second again when race leader Brett Parris was forced into retirement with an alternator problem. Over the remainder of the 12-lap encounter he pushed hard to pressurise Mulholland and posted the fastest lap of 1m19.879 seconds (106.18mph) en-route to take two crucial bonus points.
Theodore, meanwhile, was enjoying a superb run himself in fourth position which would end up being his best finish of the year. Added to that was an outstanding lap of 1m19.924 seconds to place him second only to team-mate Al Harthy in terms of pace – Hillspeed’s pairing being the only two drivers able to lap under the 1m20 second barrier.
Hillspeed pace impresses once more in round 13For round 13, persistent rain meant conditions were worse than during the opening race but Al Harthy and Theodore weren’t fazed in the slightest as they again lapped very quickly on their way to second and sixth place finishes.
Al Harthy moved into second position on the opening tour and never relinquished the place all the way to the chequered flag on lap 12. During the final few laps he more than halved race winner Zamparelli’s advantage at the front and again was the fastest driver on track with a superb time of 1m20.132 seconds (105.84mph).
Theodore had to fight back from an enforced spin early on but his pace shone through once more as he piled on the pressure to eventual top five finisher Steven Durrant. In the end, Theodore crossed the line just eight 10ths of a second adrift.
Reflecting on the day’s action, Ollerenshaw added: “James was unlucky in race two, he got blocked on the first lap which resulted in him having a spin in avoidance of another car, but it’s been a good year for him. To finish in the championship top six is a great effort and he definitely has a lot to build on for next season. His pace at Thruxton – a track he has very little experience of – has been superb.
“Finishing runner-up in the championship to Kieren (Clark) with Ahmad is a great result and we couldn’t have asked any more of him. It’s been a very interesting battle for the Vice-Champion’s position and to claim it by just one point shows how competitive Formula Renault BARC is.”
He added: “Ultimately we’re very pleased. It’s a shame we couldn’t have had three cars out there on a regular basis but it’s been a difficult year for drivers financially. To have had two consistently strong racers challenging among the front-runners though has been very satisfying for all of us.”
Hillspeed’s other Formula Renault BARC competitors, Ellis Harkins and Alexander Jeffrey, only contested three events each – hence their unchanged points scores in the championship. The team also ends the season as the highest-scoring squad over the course of the 13-race calendar.
Final 2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Driver Standings:Vice-Champion: Ahmad Al Harthy, 287pts; 6th James Theodore, 189pts; 20th Ellis Harkins, 34pts; 23rd Alexander Jeffrey, 19pts
