Productive test in Spa pleases Oman Racing Team’s Ahmad
Enjoying a productive and confidence assuring outing, the trio concentrated on key set-up work for the No.44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 ahead of July’s huge twice-round-the-clock encounter, which will be Ahmad’s third appearance in the most challenging
MUSCAT: With just a month to go until the biggest race of Ahmad Al Harthy’s motorsport season, the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the Oman Racing Team driver is brimming with confidence after a very productive test outing at the famous Belgian track last week.
Just a few days removed from the previous round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Paul Ricard in France last weekend, where the 33-year-old and teammates Jonny Adam and Daniel Lloyd secured their first Pro Cup points finish of the season, the squad headed straight to Spa for the practice, where they shared an extremely busy track with almost 60 other cars.
Enjoying a productive and confidence assuring outing, the trio concentrated on key set-up work for the No.44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 ahead of July’s huge twiceround-the-clock encounter, which will be Ahmad’s third appearance in the most challenging GT race in the world.
As the blue riband event of the Blancpain season, the Total 24 Hours of Spa carries with it immense prestige and Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Ooredoo, National Bank of Oman and Al Hashar Group-backed racer Ahmad says the motivation to do well there has never been higher.
“We didn’t run new tyres at all in the test, there was no focus on lap times as we just wanted to concentrate on getting everything comfortable for the 24 Hours”, he commented, “It was good to familiarise myself with the track again and we definitely accomplished everything we wanted – it was a productive day. “The team is very motivated for Spa, we’re very much ready for it and we know we have a good car and set-up for the event.
“We tested with the 24 Hour race spec on the Aston on Wednesday so we learnt a lot and we know what’s possible. It’s a huge event, the biggest of our season, so to do well there and achieve a respectable finish would be a massive achievement.”
Prior to the Total 24 Hours of Spa, which gets underway on Satur- day, 25th July, the next round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship – in which Ahmad and Lloyd are currently fifth in the driver standings with the Oman Racing Team leading the entrant’s battle – will also take place at Spa, on Saturday, 11th July. Last Wednesday’s test, therefore, had double the importance.
“It’s worked very nicely having the 24 Hour race test before we go to Spa for the next round of British GT, the track time we had and everything we learned with the car will be a big help for that event where we’re determined to be back on the podium”, added the Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassador.