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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Al Harthy positive ahead of Silver Cup Challenge

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Muscat: Blancpain Endurance Cup racer Ahmad al Harthy heads to Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit this coming weekend, 19th/20th May, relishing the prospect of racing on UK soil once again and aiming to build on the very positive start Oman Racing has made to the 2018 season.


Moving into the immensely competitive Silver Cup this season, after winning the Pro-Am crown last year during an exceptional season at the wheel of the No 97 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, Muscat driver Al Harthy got things off to a good start in round one last month with fifth in class.


Joined by Euan McKay and Charlie Eastwood at Oman Racing this year, all three Silver graded drivers have gelled extremely well and during the championship curtain-raiser at Monza in Italy, an excellent team performance ensured a strong haul of points.


More than satisfied with the top five Silver Cup finish, Al Harthy is delighted to be heading back to Silverstone a few days from now where he has enjoyed great success in GT endurance racing and during his formative racing years in Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Formula Renault single-seaters.


Al Harthy, of course, spent the vast majority of his early motor racing career competing on British soil and for that reason the UK round of the Blancpain Endurance Cup season is always very much the ‘home’ event on the calendar for the Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Air, National Bank of Oman, Omantel, Barr Al Jissah and Amouage.


“We’re all really looking forward to Silverstone, it’s an amazing track and somewhere Oman Racing has a lot of good memories — it’s always a pleasure to be back racing in the UK”, he said, “This is always a big home event for us, we have a huge amount of support and it’s also the home race for TF Sport [the squad behind Oman Racing], plus Euan and Charlie, so it’ll be a big weekend for all of us.


“I was very happy with the foundations we laid at Monza during the first round. Finishing fifth on our Silver Cup debut was a strong result and there were a lot of positives. The team is, as ever, doing a fantastic job with our Aston Martin and on the driving side we’re all working very well together. Silver Cup is incredibly competitive, but we’re positive we have a strong package for Silverstone.”


Ahead of round two at Silverstone GP Circuit, which will be contested over a duration of three hours, the competitors will have a 90-minute free practice session on Saturday, 19th May, ahead of the important 90-minute Pre-Qualifying session later in the day.


Final Qualifying will take place at 09.45 (local time) on raceday morning, Sunday, 20th May, with round two beginning at 15.00 (local time). Live television coverage will be screened across the globe on Motorsport TV, with live online streaming globally at https://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/live


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