With only two race meetings remaining on the 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship calendar, Ahmad Al Harthy knows this weekend’s double-header event at Snetterton will be pivotal toward his hopes of ending the campaign inside the coveted top three for the second year in succession.
Muscat racer Ahmad, who finished the 2014 season as Vice-Champion alongside then team-mate Michael Caine, has endured more than his share of misfortune this year but still goes into rounds seven and eight on Sunday, 23rd August, mathematically able to repeat last year’s series placing.
Snetterton 300 Circuit is a track where the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-supported racer has enjoyed impressive results in the past, in fact it was the venue for his first British GT podium and also maiden series win in 2013.
This year, piloting the No.2 Oman Racing Team Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, Ahmad will arrive at Snetterton sixth in the overall British GT title chase and after two back-to-back events with no points scored – as a result of a pit-stop mishap at Spa in Belgium and mechanical problems last time out at Brands Hatch – two strong results are absolutely vital.
“We know what we have to do at Snetterton and we’re all unbelievably determined to get back on the podium, that’s our focus”, said the 33-year-old Omani, “It’s been very unfortunate the way the last two races turned out, at Brands GP we had a great chance of finishing on the podium but it wasn’t to be unfortunately through matters out of our control.
“The positives from Brands, and Spa before that, are how well the car has been working and the set-up we’ve been able to achieve which has meant we’ve been competitive. Snetterton is a track which has good memories, hopefully we can take away some big points and silverware at the weekend.”
As well as the main championship challenge, Ahmad – who is an ambassador for Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa – is also battling it out for title victory in the Silver Cup classification where the Oman Racing Team entry currently leads the way by 9.75 points from the McLaren pairing of Andrew Watson and Ross Wylie.
Reverting to the 60-minute format for the two upcoming Snetterton races, the double-header will be the first since the championship-opening event at Oulton Park in April and both races are expected to be screened live on Motors TV.
Following two free practice sessions on Saturday, 22nd August, qualifying for rounds seven and eight of the British GT season will get underway at 15.25 (local time). On Sunday, 23rd August, morning warm-up will begin at 09.25 (local time) with race one scheduled to start at 12.55 (local time) and race two set to follow at 16.30 (local time).
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings: 6th Ahmad Al Harthy, 46pts
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Silver Cup: 1st Ahmad Al Harthy, 81.5pts
Provisional 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings: 2nd Oman Racing Team, 156.5pts
