AND OMAN RACING TEAM VITAL POINTSAhmad Al Harthy departed Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, 11th July, wondering what might have been in round five of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship after a costly mishap during the driver change pit-stop robbed the No.2 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of a possible podium result.
Having qualified sixth fastest for the two-hour contest, hopes were high in the Oman Racing Team of a strong race performance but after losing well over a minute during the mandatory pit visit at the halfway point, Ahmad and team-mate Daniel Lloyd had to settle for 11th position.
Just missing out on the points-paying top 10, the duo were crestfallen after 120 minutes of challenging action having been in with a chance of fighting for a second British GT podium finish of the year.
“When it was time to come into the pits the Safety Car was on track and our sister car also pitted at the same time”, explained the Muscat racer, “Unfortunately, there was a mishap which cost us about a minute and 20 seconds so that was the end of the race for us right there. We were predicted to come out of the pits in about P3 or P4 but we were P16, so any chance of points was gone really.”
From the third row of the grid at the rolling start, Ahmad got away cleanly and enjoyed a strong first lap to climb into the top four. Initially running within 0.5 seconds of Jon Minshaw’s BMW, the Omani then had difficulties keeping his challengers behind, especially on the long Kemmel Straight, due to the extra ballast he and Lloyd have to carry in their car.
Although slipping back to seventh position by the end of lap eight, as the fuel tank got lighter the Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador was able to pick-up his pace once more and he moved back into the top five prior to the deployment of the Safety Car on lap 13.
Racing resumed on lap 16 with approximately 40 minutes having elapsed but the Safety Car was required again almost immediately when two GT4 class cars tangled at Turn 13. With the race staying under caution for several laps, the pit-stop window opened for driver changes while the Safety Car remained on track and so the entire GT3 upper order dived into the pitlane straight away.
Frustratingly for Ahmad and Lloyd, though, fifth position became 16th place after the congestion in the pits cost them a significant amount of time. During the second hour, Lloyd worked hard to try and limit the damage but with huge chunks of time to make up the team had to be satisfied with 11th position after two hours of competition.
“Off the start I made up two positions which I was happy with but then the extra weight came into play and it was tough to keep people behind”, said Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-supported driver Ahmad, “The pace came back as the car got lighter but then the pit-stop problem meant any hopes were gone.
“It’s unfortunate but one of those things and this emphasises how everything has to work perfectly, on track and in the pits with the team, for things to go right for you. We’re obviously disappointed as a podium, certainly a top four or five finish, was possible this weekend – but it wasn’t to be.”
Next on the British GT calendar is a visit to Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the UK, over the weekend 1st/2nd August, for the 120-minute sixth round of the 2015 season.
2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings: 5th Ahmad Al Harthy/Daniel Lloyd, 46pts
2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Silver Cup Standings: 1st Ahmad Al Harthy/Daniel Lloyd, 81.5pts
2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings: 1st Oman Racing Team, 144.5pts
