Al Harthy ready for ‘special experience’
Oman star excited to partner Rossi and Martin at Imola as he pushes for maiden LMGT3 silverware
I’m very excited to be racing at Imola this weekend, and especially as teammate to Vale with all of the Italian fans there – it’s going to be a very special experience AHMAD AL HARTHY
Muscat - Italy becomes the latest stop on Ahmad al Harthy’s global sporting tour of 2024 this week, with the second round of the ultra-competitive FIA World Endurance Championship - the 6 Hours of Imola - taking place on Sunday.
Following hot on the heels of the opening event of his dovetailed programme in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup just over a week ago at Paul Ricard in the south of France, Al Harthy now turns attention back to FIA WEC with the No.46 Team WRT squad.
Reuniting with star teammates Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin for the second event of the World Endurance season, the trio are determined to mount a challenge for their maiden podium in the LMGT3 class after finishing fourth at the championship-opener in Qatar.
Being the home event for sports icon Rossi, the buzz around the Team WRT garage is set to be even more electrifying than usual with the Italian race fans. Al Harthy, supported by partners OQ, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth,
Omantel and BMW Oman, is incredibly excited to be part of that experience for the first time, and looking forward to being back on track in the WEC.
Unquestionably the biggest season of racing in his glittering
GT and sportscar career, Al Harthy has seamlessly transitioned to be part of Team WRT and has adapted incredibly quickly to the BMW M4 he shares with Rossi and Martin.
“I’m very excited to be racing at Imola this weekend, and especially as teammate to Vale with all of the Italian fans there – it’s going to be a very special experience,” said Al Harthy. “We made a good, solid start to the season in the 10-hours in Qatar. Our package wasn’t the fastest, so the team produced a strategy which was pretty aggressive which did enable us to get very close to finishing on the podium.
“Hopefully we will be even more competitive in Imola. My aim is to qualify as strong as we possibly can but we know we need a car that is quick, consistent and very reliable for the race so there will be a lot of focus on achieving that during practice. As always, I’m hoping to deliver the best result I can for the team and also for my amazing partners and supporters in Oman.”
At the first round in Qatar, Al Harthy brilliantly overcame an issue with the car in qualifying to move into his maiden Hyperpole shoot-out session with just a single flying lap. After then taking ninth on the grid in LMGT3 during Hyperpole, he embarked on his longest-ever race stint – three full hours.