Oman’s Al Harthy aims to put up better show at Imola circuit

The trio of Al Harthy, Rossi and Martin is confident of a bettering their Qatar display in the second round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship race on April 21

The famed Imola circuit in Italy will be the latest stop for Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy on his global sporting tour of 2024 this week, as he along with his Team WRT’s BMW M4 teammates, Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin, compete in the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship on Sunday.

The 6 Hours race will be held at Imola on April 21.

Following his participation in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup recently at Paul Ricard in the south of France, Al Harthy now turns his attention back to FIA WEC with the No.46 Team WRT squad.

Reuniting with Rossi and 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 during the championshipopener in Qatar last month.

Being the home event for former MotoGP legend 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 excited to be part of that experience for the first time.

Al Harthy has seamlessly transitioned to be part of Team WRT and has adapted incredibly quickly to the BMW M4.

At the first round in Qatar, the Omani 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 with the team finishing fourth.

Al Harthy said: “I’m very excited to be racing at Imola this weekend, and especially as team-mate to Vale (Rossi) with all of the Italian fans there – it’s going to be a very special experience. We made a good start to the season in the 10-hours race in Qatar as we finished close to a podium finish.

“Hopefully we will be even more competitive in Imola. My aim is, obviously, to qualify as strong as we possibly can. I’m hoping to deliver the best result and better the team’s P4 finish in Qatar.”

Two practice sessions at Imola will begin on Friday and on Saturday, a third practice run will start in the morning followed by qualifying later the same day.

Raceday is Sunday with the 6 Hours of Imola starting at 13.00 local time.