Hard Fought Seventh Place For Al Harthy And OQ By Oman Racing In Germany

Oman Racing's OQ achieved a seventh-place finish in the Bronze class during the third round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, powered by AWS Endurance Cup, at the Nurburgring in Germany on Sunday, 28th July.

Ahmad Al Harthy, alongside his teammates Sam De Haan and Jens Klingmann, made commendable progress from their initial position of 13th on the Bronze grid throughout the three-hour event. British racer De Haan particularly excelled during the opening stint, swiftly advancing through the ranks.

At one point, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, Omantel, and BMW Oman provided support to the No.30 BMW M4 GT3, which ultimately settled for a seventh-place finish. Departing Germany 15th in the Bronze class driver standings, the team's efforts were recognized.

The race commenced behind the Safety Car following a collision during the initial green flag formation lap. Racing officially began a lap later, and De Haan delivered an outstanding performance, securing a seventh-place finish in the Bronze class.

Continuing to make strong early progress, De Haan moved into the top five within a few laps and by the conclusion of the first half hour, he was in fourth place. Shortly after passing the No.78 Lamborghini for third in Bronze, De Haan later took second place as the first round of pit stops commenced, with approximately 50 minutes elapsed.

After maintaining his position on the track until the end of the first hour, De Haan then made a pit stop, handing over the car to Al Harthy for the middle stint. After all the pit stops had been completed, De Haan was in fourth place in Bronze. With the coveted podium still within reach, De Haan's performance was commendable.

Running in sixth place midway through his stint, De Haan passed a Silver class competitor, yet this had no impact on the class battle. As the second hour approached, the second round of pit stops began, and De Haan climbed into third place after staying out, before stopping at the end of the hour to hand the car over to Klingmann.

By the time the final pit stops had been completed, De Haan found himself in seventh place in Bronze, less than three seconds behind the next target. With the pace of the drivers evenly matched and no one making mistakes, it was not feasible to make significant advances. Closing more during the final laps, Klingmann crossed the checkered flag in seventh place – less than three seconds behind the top six.

Ahmad Al Harthy:

"Our performance in the race has undeniably improved, clearly evident from our starting position in qualifying. Sam executed an exceptional first stint, successfully overtaking several vehicles and demonstrating commendable skill. Upon my turn, the race presented a challenging middle segment, contested against formidable opponents. Nonetheless, our overall performance was satisfactory, and I am pleased with the average lap times achieved.

"We anticipated the race to be a formidable challenge, given the strength of our competitors. The best we could hope for was a seventh-place finish. The team's strategic approach, particularly in attempting to secure as many positions as possible at the outset and during pit stops, was commendable. We are eagerly awaiting a break before the FIA World Endurance Championship at COTA, where we plan to focus on enhancing our performance for the GTWCE and WEC seasons.

Monza in Italy will host the fourth round of the GTWCE Endurance Cup season over the weekend of the 21st to 22nd of September. Following this, Ahmad Al Harthy will resume his participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the sixth round of its season, scheduled at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, USA, by the end of August.

GTWCE Endurance Cup Nurburgring Result

1st Dennis Marschall / Dustin Blattner / Loek Hartog (Rutronik Racing, Porsche 911)

2nd Patrick Kolb / Michael Verhagen / Bastian Buus (Lionspeed GP, Porsche 911)

3rd Antoine Doquin / Till Bechtolsheimer / Sandy Mitchell (Barwell, Lamborghini Huracan)

4th Jake Dennis / Toby Sowery / Darren Leung (Century Motorsport, BMW M4)

5th Jonathan Hui / Eddie Cheever / Chris Froggatt (SKY Tempesta Racing, Ferrari 296)

6th Miguel Ramos / Louis Prette / Adam Smalley (Garage 59, McLaren 720S)

7th Ahmad Al Harthy / Sam De Haan / Jens Klingmann (OQ by Oman Racing, BMW M4)

2024 GTWCE Endurance Cup Bronze Class Standings (after Rd3)

1st Jef Machiels / Louis Machiels / Andrea Bertolini, 57pts

2nd Jonathan Hui / Eddie Cheever / Chris Froggatt, 53pts

3rd Tommaso Mosca, 39pts