Omani racer Ahmad Al Harthy departed Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, 2nd August, ruing what might have been after a realistic podium bid in round six of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship was halted just 22 laps into the two-hour contest following contact from a rival.
First sustaining a puncture to the left rear tyre of the No.2 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 on lap 15 while running in fifth place, which resulted in a costly pit-stop, the Oman Racing Team driver was then forced to pull off the circuit on lap 23 when the car lost all drive – believed to be a legacy of the initial hit.
“It’s a frustrating way for the weekend to end for sure, we had very good pace and were running as high as fourth during the first part of the race”, said the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-backed racer, “Under yellow flags, though, [Jon] Minshaw clipped the back of our car and at first I thought it was OK.
“The contact obviously caused a slow puncture as it had an effect on the performance before the tyre decided to let go. Even after the pit-stop, though, we were still in the hunt but I then lost drive and had to pull over. We’re not completely sure if the driveshaft went as a result of the initial impact from the BMW, either way it’s disappointing as we had a great chance of a very good finish.”
Enjoying a very strong start to the televised contest, the 33-year-old from Muscat instantly gained a place at the beginning to move up from eighth into seventh and then made his way into the top six after half a dozen laps as a result of a spin for the McLaren of Ross Wylie.
Embroiled in a very close multi-car battle behind the BMW of third placed Marco Attard, Ahmad piled on the pressure to the sister Oman Racing Team-run Aston Martin of Liam Griffin. Then, at the end of lap 11 as the lead group headed through Clearways, a spin for Andrew Jarman’s Aston, while dicing with Attard, elevated Ahmad into fifth.
Continuing to seek a way past Griffin, the Omani battled hard for fourth place and the pair traded position. As the race headed into lap 15, Ahmad was fifth again and after being clipped by the BMW of Jon Minshaw the resulting puncture followed.
After rejoining in 11th position following a swift wheel change in the pits, Ahmad made his way back into the top 10 on lap 21 at Druids with a great move on the Ferrari of Hector Lester and he set about making his way back up the order prior to the driver-change at mid-distance.
Just two laps later, though, the Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador had to pull off the circuit on the run out of Surtees onto the GP loop when his Oman Racing Team car lost all drive – a bitterly disappointing retirement.
“We had a very good car this weekend, qualifying went well and Dan [Lloyd – team-mate] and I had good pace so it’s even more frustrating to have missed out on some good points this way”, added Ahmad, “We’re determined to turn things around at Snetterton in a few weeks.”
There are now three weeks to wait until the next instalment of Avon Tyres British GT Championship action at Snetterton in Norfolk over the weekend 22nd/23rd August.
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings: 6th Ahmad Al Harthy/Daniel Lloyd, 46pts
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Silver Cup: 1st Ahmad Al Harthy/Daniel Lloyd, 81.5pts
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings: 2nd Oman Racing Team, 156.5pts
