Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship star Ahmad Al Harthy raced to his seventh Pro-Am 1 victory of the year during round 12 at a hot and sunny Snetterton on Sunday, 12th August – the perfect response to being shunted out of the class lead during the weekend’s opening encounter.At the wheel of his Oman Air Racing Team car, the 30-year-old was the undoubted pace-setter in both races at the Norfolk venue’s ‘300 Circuit’ and while bitterly disappointed to have been robbed of a certain victory in round 11, another faultless drive in the second race was justly rewarded.Despite the enforced non-score from the first of the day’s encounters, Ahmad’s maximum in the second race means he has still managed to increase his Pro-Am 1 lead to 40 points with eight rounds remaining in the 2012 championship.“It’s fantastic to be back on the top step of the podium”, he said after round 12, “It’s great for the team, great for myself and amazing for all of the sponsors and everyone who has supported me from day one back home in Oman.“It was very hard work, very hot and incredibly humid in the car but I kept pushing to the finish and that’s how you’re supposed to do it. We’re back where we belong and that’s a great feeling! The most important thing, after what happened in race one through no fault of our own at all, was to see how we could bounce back and we answered that question perfectly with the win.”Beginning round 12 from the Pro-Am 1 pole position, the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Nawras, National Bank of Oman and Muscat Eye Laser Centre-supported racer made a good start and calmly saw off an early challenge from Michael Leonard.Edging away from the Irishman during the first half of the 14-lapper, Ahmad’s lead was boosted on lap six when Leonard ran wide off the circuit on the approach to Hamilton. From that point on, the Omani continued to increase the gap and after setting the fastest Pro-Am 1 lap on the 10th tour, a time of 1m54.242 seconds (93.55mph), he took the flag on lap 14 almost four seconds clear.Earlier in the day, the Muscat-born racer was in prime position to maintain his unbroken run of podium finishes during round 11. Although starting second in Pro-Am 1, Ahmad made short work of pole-sitter Leonard by getting an excellent launch off the line to move ahead of his rival on the run to the first corner.Building a lead of around one second by lap nine, having set the fastest Pro-Am 1 lap on the eighth tour with a time of 1m54.165 seconds (93.61mph), he looked well on course for a deserved victory until contact from Jonas Gelzinis resulted in the Omani’s first retirement of 2012.As Ahmad prepared to turn-in for the left-hander at Hamilton on lap 10, Gelzinis – recovering back onto the track after a spin of his own doing – bizarrely steered straight into the side of the Oman Air Racing Team car. Although Ahmad’s unbroken run of podium finishes disappointingly came to an end through the Lithuanian’s senseless recovery from the grass, he still has an enviable record of 11 podiums from 12 races this season including the seven Pro-Am 1 victories.Knockhill in Scotland will host rounds 13 and 14 of the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship just a fortnight from now over the weekend 25th/26th August.