Ahmad Al Harthy and the Oman Racing Team had to be satisfied with a top 10 finish in the Pro Cup class during a frustrating third round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Paul Ricard in France on Saturday, 28th June, where unfortunate bodywork damage cost the squad a significant haul of points.Hoping to shine during the three-hour evening race at the Le Castellet venue, the 32-year-old Omani did precisely that with an impressive opening stint at the wheel of his Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 where he climbed through the order from 17th overall into the top 12 – eighth in the Pro Cup.Pitting to hand the car over to team-mate Michael Caine just prior to the one hour mark, the Briton worked his way back up the order during the early part of his stint and was running ninth in the Pro Cup before being forced to take an unscheduled stop on lap 38 due to some loose bodywork.Although the Motorbase Performance crew, the squad behind the Oman Racing Team, did a sterling job to get the car back into the race as quickly as possible, the time lost ruined any chance of a finish higher than 10th in the Pro Cup.Stephen Jelly piloted the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Nawras, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group/Aston Martin Oman-supported car during the final hour – taking the chequered flag five laps down.“There are many, many positives to take away from this weekend even though the result wasn’t what we hoped for, or could have achieved”, reflected Ahmad, “I made a very good start, then paced myself early on and went through guys one by one. We had really good pace and it was a huge improvement for me, personally, from last year at Paul Ricard.“After I had handed over to Michael [Caine] we had to pull the car in as we had some bodywork which had come loose over the kerbs, they showed us the black and orange flag so we had to heed that – we lost a lot of time there. Finishing 10th in class isn’t what we wanted, but we did finish and scored despite the problems.”The third race meeting of the Blancpain campaign had started well for the Oman Racing Team with the fourth fastest time overall, second in the Pro Cup, in the opening practice on Friday, 27th June, before ending pre-qualifying ninth in class and within 0.7 seconds of the Pro Cup top three. Clearly, the pace for a serious points attack was there from the very beginning.“It’s such a shame a few really small things cost us a strong finish, there was no contact and we all drove very well”, added Ahmad, “The team as a whole did an amazing job, the car was fantastic and we honestly felt like we could achieve a strong result this weekend. We learnt a lot ahead of the Spa 24 Hours, though, so now our full focus is on that 100%.”Next on the Blancpain Endurance Series calendar is the biggest race of the season, the Total 24 Hours of Spa at the world-famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Taking place between Thursday, 24th July, and Sunday, 27th July, the fourth event of the campaign will be preceded by an official test day at the Belgian track this coming Wednesday, 2nd July.The Oman Racing Team’s dovetailed Avon Tyres British GT Championship campaign, meanwhile, will also take in a visit to Spa-Francorchamps next month on Friday, 11th July, and Saturday, 12th July.Provisional 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series ‘Pro Cup’ Driver Standings (after Rd3):13th Ahmad Al Harthy / Michael Caine / Stephen Jelley, 3ptsProvisional 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series ‘Pro Cup’ Team Standings (after Rd3):8th Oman Racing Team, 12ptsENDS