Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium hosts the biggest race of the GT endurance racing calendar this coming weekend, 25th/26th July, where Oman Racing Team driver Ahmad Al Harthy is resolutely committed to overturning the squad’s recent misfortune.
Round four of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the Total 24 Hours of Spa, brings an immense challenge for the near 60 car entry and the annual twice-round-the-clock race is always a major highlight of the season for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 driver.
Having competed in the big race twice before, the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-supported driver is well aware of the task which awaits a few days from now.
Ahead of this weekend’s action, though, there have been some notable changes for the Oman Racing Team – the squad has been re-graded in the Pro-Am category with Australian driver Jonathan Venter joining Ahmad and regular British team-mates Daniel Lloyd and Jonny Adam in an expanded four driver line-up.
“This is the big one”, said the Muscat 33-year-old, “The 24 Hours is obviously the biggest race of the year and it’s an unbelievable challenge, there are so many factors to take into consideration and it requires so much commitment and dedication. We’re all really looking forward to the weekend and, personally, I’m determined for this to be a turning point of our year.
“We’ve had quite a bit of misfortune in 2015, both in Blancpain and the British GT Championship, and we’ve certainly been on the back-foot compared to the competition with the extra weight we’ve had to carry due to the regulations. We know what we have to do, though, we know we have a strong car and everyone at the Oman Racing Team will be giving 100 percent as always.”
Despite a problematic third round of the Blancpain campaign last time out at Paul Ricard in France, Ahmad and team-mates Lloyd and Adam produced a superb fightback to claim their first Pro Cup points finish of the season. Then, just over a week ago, Ahmad and Lloyd were in action at Spa in British GT but the race was again compromised by factors out of their control.
So, on the team’s return to Belgium, which brings a fresh challenge in Pro-Am with Aston Martin Evolution Academy member Venter racing as the team’s ‘Bronze’ driver, the desire has never been stronger to deliver on all fronts.
“We’ve never been hungrier for success than we are right now”, said Ahmad, “Our car is good and the team continues to do a fantastic job, we’ve just had more than our share of bad luck this year. With our move to Pro-Am the weekend will be a different challenge and it’s going to be great racing with Jonathan [Venter] for the first time – especially at such a high-profile event.”
Ahmad’s first track time at Spa will come on Thursday, 23rd July, during free practice at 12.00 (local time) with pre-qualifying set to follow at 18.10 (local time) and qualifying scheduled to get underway at 20.30 (local time). Night qualifying will then take place at 22.15 (local time).
Should the Oman Racing Team qualify for the Super Pole session, they will return to action at 15.30 (local time) on Friday, 24th July. After a warm-up session at 09.05 (local time) on Saturday, 25th July, the Total 24 Hours of Spa will get underway at 16.30 (local time).
