High-profile Middle East racing driver Ahmad Al Harth has officially confirmed his participation in the Blancpain Endurance Cup this year with the rebranded ‘Oman Racing Team powered by Motorbase’.
The 34-year-old, from Muscat in Oman, will again pilot a glorious Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 race car in the ultra-competitive endurance racing championship and will be joined by British duo Jonny Adam and Devon Modell.
During an exclusive launch ceremony at the Barr Al Jissah resort near Muscat this morning, Ahmad outlined his 2016 motor racing activities where it was confirmed the Oman Racing Team would again by engineered by vastly experienced UK squad Motorbase – affording the Omani licensed entry excellent continuity.
“I am elated to confirm we will be racing in the Blancpain Endurance Cup again this year with the Oman Racing Team – it’s the biggest GT racing championship on the globe and the only place we wanted to be”, said Ahmad.
“We have a fantastic driver line-up, Jonny is a world class competitor and Devon is a quick young driver too. It’s also been very important to keep continuity on the engineering side of things. David [Bartrum – Motorbase team principal] and all of his guys at Motorbase have done an incredible job for the Oman Racing Team over the last couple of years. Everything is in place for a strong 2016.”
Aston Martin ‘works’ driver Adam remains with the Oman Racing Team for the full Endurance Cup season, having contested four of last year’s five events as team-mate to Ahmad. The Scottish driver is widely regarded as one of the UK’s premier GT racers and was British GT Champion last year.
Team newcomer Modell was selected for the Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy back in 2014, after his first season in GT racing on home soil in the UK, and in 2015 he won the 24H Series SP3 Class Championship at the wheel of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4.
“We all wanted Jonny to be part of the team again this year, so I am delighted he’ll be back”, said Ahmad, “He is such a fantastic driver and a real benchmark, exactly the kind of racer we need to help spearhead our challenge. Devon has achieved a great deal in GT racing in a short space of time and I think he and I will be quite evenly matched. Overall, we have a very strong team this season.”
Last year the Oman Racing Team entry became a top 10 finisher in the championship, its best result coming at the Nurburgring in Germany during the final round, and the result achieved the objective Ahmad set himself at the beginning of the campaign.
Key to the package Ahmad has put together for the new season has been the continued support of several high-profile sponsors, not least Oman Air which remains for an eighth consecutive year as one of the Muscat driver’s prime backers.
Speaking on the continuation of the partnership, Mohammed Al Shikely, Vice President Marketing Oman Air, said: “We are absolutely delighted to continue being the key sponsor to our Omani international star as he continues to raise the Omani flag in the UK, Europe and other circuits in the Middle East. His performance and charisma has certainly added value in the efforts to further improve visibility of the Sultanate, which greatly assists us in our journey of promoting Oman as the unique destination it is – packed with culture, heritage, amazing topography, topped with a world renowned reputation of hospitality.
“Based on our primary focus of promoting the Sultanate as the destination of choice, our long standing partnership with Ahmad has been extremely rewarding and we are proud to have Ahmad as our Ambassador. We look forward to a continued relationship in 2016 that will benefit our beautiful country, its people and both our entities.”
Importantly, the Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs also continues its support of Ahmad’s racing in 2016. Fahad Al Raisi commented: “Ahmad is clearly one of Oman’s most high profile sportsmen and an extremely proud ambassador for our country. We are very happy to continue our support for his motorsport season this year and wish Ahmad every success as he proudly flies the flag for Oman.”
National Bank of Oman (“NBO”) is another key partner remaining as a central part of Ahmad’s racing career into the new season. John Chang, General Manager and Chief Retail Banking Officer at NBO said: “We continue to extend our support to local Omani talent who are promoting Oman to a global audience, including our Brand Ambassador and local star Ahmad Al Harthy, who has been receiving international acclaim. Our partnership with Ahmad and the Oman Racing Team reflects our commitment to supporting rising Omani stars. We also share the same values of responsibility and corporate citizenship – he is a fantastic role model and an important ambassador for NBO.”
Notably, Ahmad has attracted vital backing from two new sponsors for the Blancpain Endurance Cup season with Muscat real estate business Barr Al Jissah today announced as a partner for the coming campaign.
Barr Al Jissah is the company behind the Sultanate’s leading luxury destination, a magnificent development of property – including the five star Shangri-La Hotel – situated just 20 minutes outside the capital where the coastline meets the Arabian Sea.
On behalf of Barr Al Jissah, Firas Matraji said: “All at Barr Al Jissah are extremely excited to be part of Ahmad’s high-profile motor racing season this year. It is a wonderful vehicle to promote Oman and our luxury resort in the Sultanate, which is a prime destination for travel and business. We are very much looking forward to sharing in a great deal of success this year.”
Omantel, the leading provider of integrated telecommunication services in the Sultanate and Oman’s most valuable brand, was confirmed as part of the 2016 sponsorship portfolio just over a week ago.
Hamdan Moosa Al Harasi, Acting Vice President Corporate Strategy, said: “We are pleased to welcome back our national champion Ahmad Al Harthy to the Omantel family. Omantel and Ahmad have both passion for leading performance, excellence, and we believe that this new partnership will bear fruits for both parties. This sponsorship is an extension to Omantel efforts to support Omani talents in various fields which reiterates the company’s leadership in supporting youth and sport in the Sultanate.”
In addition to the above partners, Ahmad also has the prestigious support of Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa – for whom he is an ambassador. General Manager for the MENA region, Neil Slade, commented: “Ahmad’s appointment as a brand ambassador last year for Aston Martin was extremely important for the brand and we are very pleased to continue our relationship in 2016.
“As well as the racing itself, our partnership centres around a number of promotional activities in the region and Ahmad’s profile through his motorsport achievements is a key part of that. We are all looking forward to an excellent year and one which will bring rewards for all involved.”
Featuring the world’s most exotic GT racing machinery from the most prestigious motoring manufacturers, the Blancpain Endurance Cup – formerly known as the Endurance ‘Series’ – will get underway on 23rd/24th April at Monza in Italy.
2016 Blancpain Endurance Cup Calendar:23/24 April – Monza, Italy 14/15 May – Silverstone GP Circuit, UK24/25 June – Paul Ricard, France28/29/30/31 July – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium [Total 24 Hours of Spa]17/18 September – Nurburgring, Germany
