The fifth and final round of the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Cup sees the Oman Racing Team head to Germany’s iconic Nürburgring with the aim of securing a top three finish in the Pro-Am Standings this coming weekend (September 17/18).
56 GT3 cars from the world’s most prestigious marques are expected to descend on the Eifel circuit for the 3-hour-long season finale with the Oman Racing Team Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 being the sole representative of the esteemed British brand.
Ahmad Al Harthy, Devon Modell and Jonny Adam – who successfully secured his 2nd consecutive British GT title last weekend - all return to the #44 Aston to complete the squad’s first full season in the Pro-Am class. The trio currently lie in 3rd place in the Pro-Am standings and head to the world-famous track in confident form looking to maintain their position as the championship draws to its conclusion.
After a dream start to the season at Monza and Silverstone – where the squad celebrated its maiden Blancpain podium on home soil – a suspension issue cruelly cut short the #44 Vantage’s progress at Paul Ricard. The Oman Racing Team fought back hard during the Total 24 hours of Spa, leading the class during the early stages of the race and looked well on course to secure a second podium before an unfortunate oil leak - picked up after contact from another competitor - dropped the Omani-backed Aston back into seventh.
Oman Racing Team Principal David Bartrum said; “We’ve performed very well this year in the Pro-Am Class. It’s been much better suited to our car and our driver line-up after two years competing against the might of the manufacturer teams.
“We’re sitting 3rd in the Pro-Am Class and can’t go any higher but we can lose this position so this weekend is all about making sure that we secure that 3rd place for the end of the season. Overall I’ve been very pleased with the performance of the Aston this season, it’s competed well against the newer cars and we’ve represented the brand well I feel.
“All three drivers have been excellent as well this season;” continued Bartrum. “Ahmad has really come into his own this season with support and commitment from Jonny, and Devon has come into the team and done a good job for us. The team have been exceptional all year –from the pit-stops, strategy and attitude it’s been a really, really good year.
“The Blancpain Series is head and shoulders above any of the other GT3 series in the World in my opinion and it would be a huge achievement for us to end the season in P3."
Saturday 17th September sees the cars take to the track for the first time for the Bronze test at 09:00 (local time). Free practice follows shortly after at 11:05 before Pre-Qualifying gets underway at 16:15 (local time).
Qualifying for the final long-haul race of the season takes place at 08:30 on Sunday 18th September. With the 3-hour-long race scheduled to commence at 14:45 (local time) 13:45 (UK time).
Live timing of all sessions and the entire 3-hour race can be found at: http://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/live#live-timing
Live streaming of the race can be viewed via the official Blancpain Series website here: http://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/live
Driver Quotes:Ahmad Al Harthy: “It all comes down to this weekend, we’re in a great position in the Pro-Am championship and if we can end our first season in the class inside the top three that will be an amazing achievement. It really has been a fantastic year for the Oman Racing Team, the guys have done a truly incredible job with the Aston Martin and Jonny, Devon and I have given our absolute all.
“Nürburgring is a great track, and our car went well there last year, so everyone is confident of mounting a very strong challenge. It would be incredible to finish on the podium again before the end of the season, that’s our aim – hopefully we can have a trouble-free weekend.”
Jonny Adam: “The Aston usually performs well on the Nürburgring so I think we have a great chance of getting a good result this weekend. We really need to try and cement 3rd in the Pro-Am Championship. It’s really close in the standings so we need to make sure that we hold on to that position.“The guys had their best result here last year with a 10th overall in the Pro-Cup class. We’re better suited in the Pro-Am class this year and the Aston is more competitive so I think we’ll be in good shape. Both Ahmad and Devon have driven exceptionally well this season, we’ve had the pace all season but just not the luck. If we can have a clean race this weekend then there’s no reason why we can’t get back on the podium.”Devon Modell: “We’ve got a very good chance of finishing 3rd in the championship providing we run as well as we have up to this point and hopefully avoid any more unfortunate incidents this time out. Ahmad, Jonny and I have gelled really well this year and it would be really special to end our first season together with a Pro-Am win.”
