ENJOYABLE WEEKEND FOR AL HARTHY DESPITE NURBURGRING NON-FINISH Treacherous wet conditions made the already immense challenge of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife an even greater task during the inaugural Porsche Carrera World Cup race on Saturday, 25th June, an encounter in which Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy unfortunately had to retire on the opening lap.Acting as round nine of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship, and also featuring drivers from a number of other Porsche categories from across the globe, the six-lap race began well for the Oman Air Racing Team star who qualified fourth fastest of the Pro-Am 1 Class drivers from the UK series.Making a fantastic start in truly awful weather, Ahmad scythed his way past at least 10 cars during the early stages and was very well placed as the competitors headed out from the ‘Grand Prix’ part of the Nurburgring onto the incredibly daunting ‘Nordschleife’ section.Gaining confidence all of the time as the first 14-mile lap unfolded, Ahmad ran strongly and dealt with the continual rain and spray impressively. Midway through the opening lap though, while embroiled in a three-car battle, he ran slightly wide and into the gravel before making unfortunate contact with the barriers.Although recovering to the track well, the Muscat racer’s involvement came to an end soon after when damage to the radiator on his Oman Air, Nawras, National Bank of Oman, Brand Oman, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs and Oman Ministry of Tourism-backed car led to retirement.With the length of the circuit being so vast, Ahmad was unable to coax his car back to the pits so instead had to park out of harm’s way and watch the rest of the race as a frustrated spectator from track-side. Clearly disappointed, the 29-year-old still enjoyed every bit of his maiden Nürburgring-Nordschleife experience and is now focused on returning to the Pro-Am 1 podium during the next round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship in August.“It’s very disappointing for the race to have ended for us on the first lap but we leave Germany in a very positive frame of mind”, said Ahmad, “The weekend was a huge learning curve for me and the Oman Air Racing Team but I’m delighted with the progress we made throughout testing, qualifying and the early part of the race.“We had an amazing start, before we got onto the Nordschleife I’d overtaken between 10 and 15 cars. Unfortunately when I had my moment and the tyres locked, I was a passenger and couldn’t prevent the car hitting the barrier. I managed to get back on to the track and carried on for a short distance but the radiator was damaged so I couldn’t continue.”He added: “I’m obviously very disappointed, and especially for all of my sponsors and the people from Oman who came to support us this weekend, but we have to maintain our focus on the bigger picture. This has been a very important weekend for me in terms of my learning and it’s been an absolutely amazing experience – the track is like no other in the world.”Oman Air’s Chief Officer Corporate Affairs, Philippe Georgiou, added: “It’s been a fantastic weekend and an incredible experience, obviously we wanted to see Ahmad on the Pro-Am 1 podium again but it wasn’t to be unfortunately. “As ever he gave his all and strived to improve each time he was on track, the same way we at Oman Air continually strive to provide the best service. With Ahmad on the podium several times this year so far, we at Oman Air have just been awarded ‘Best Business Class Seat in the World’, as voted by millions of passengers. The Nürburgring-Nordschleife experience will be invaluable for Ahmad and everyone at the Oman Air Racing Team.”Porsche Carrera Cup GB now returns to its regular slot on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support package with rounds 10 and 11 of the season taking place six weeks from now on 6th/7th August at Snetterton 300 Circuit in East Anglia.Provisional 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship ‘Pro-Am 1’ Standings (after Rd9):1st Jonas Gelzinis, 99pts; 2nd Rory Butcher, 65pts; 3rd Ahmad Al Harthy, 51pts