Muscat: Omani sports star Ahmad al Harthy, the reigning and two-time Pro-Am Champion of the pan-European Blancpain Endurance Cup, is making a surprise and very welcome return to the prestigious Intelligent Money British GT Championship for the 2020 season.
During a special launch ceremony, at the state-of-the-art global headquarters of Aston Martin Lagonda in Gaydon, Warwickshire, in the UK, Al Harthy and the Oman Racing team were joined by David King, President of Aston Martin Racing.
Additionally, Oliver Blake of the Anglo-Omani Society was in attendance with special guests of the group and gave a key talk about the strength of the links between Oman and the UK, something Al Harthy has worked tirelessly to foster and nurture throughout his motorsport career.
Confirmed today, Al Harthy will pilot an Aston Martin Vantage run by British squad TF Sport and he will be partnered by Aston ‘factory’ driver Jonny Adam, the reigning and four-time British GT Champion —reforming the pairing which won Oman Racing’s first Pro-Am title in Blancpain in 2017.
Support for the return of Al Harthy and Oman Racing to the British GT Championship comes from prestigious long-time partners the Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, National Bank of Oman, Omantel and Barr Al Jissah.
“It really is an amazing privilege to have launched the 2020 Oman Racing programme at Aston Martin’s headquarters here in the UK”, commented the Middle Eastern sportsman, “After several very successful years racing with Aston across Europe, it’s exciting to return to British GT this year where Jonny [Adam] and I are targeting nothing less than a challenge for the championship.
“We obviously know each other extremely well, and work together seamlessly, and we have incredible continuity with the TF Sport guys preparing the Oman Racing car once again. It’s been a few years since I raced on the British tracks, other than Silverstone, and they do provide a very unique challenge. Our plan is to fight for podiums and wins from the outset’’.
He added: “Of course, I must say a huge thank you to everyone who has been working hard behind the scenes to put our 2020 programme together, especially my incredible sponsors Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, National Bank of Oman, Omantel and Barr Al Jissah. As always, it is an incredible honour to represent Oman internationally and to fly the flag for my country on an important stage’’.
Exciting return to British GT for Oman’s number one racing driver
Al Harthy, a brand ambassador for Aston Martin Middle East, first began his association with the famous marque in 2014 — one year after debuting in British GT. Winning the Team Championship title along with becoming Vice-Champion in GT3, the following year Al Harthy claimed the Silver Cup title with six class victories and one outright British GT podium.
In 2016, Al Harthy and Oman Racing moved full-time into the Blancpain Endurance Cup [now known as GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup] and finished fourth in the Pro-Am standings. The history books were then rewritten in 2017 when Al Harthy became the first driver of Arab origin to win the coveted title with one Pro-Am victory win and three other podiums.
Double win
That same year Al Harthy also took a double win in the Michelin Le Mans Cup at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France, the support races to the Le Mans 24 Hours. At the end of 2017, he finished in second place in the GT Pro-Am class in the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi.
Moving into the Silver Cup class in Blancpain in 2018, where Oman Racing took a best result of fourth place, last year the squad returned to Pro-Am and wrapped-up its second championship title in the series. Notably, Al Harthy and the team secured another history-making first — victory in the blue riband Total 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium, the first ever in the endurance classic for Aston Martin.
Now returning to British GT, regarded as one of the most competitive national championships in the world, Al Harthy is determined to put together a consistent challenge for the overall GT3 title with four-time British GT Champion team-mate Adam.
Al Harthy’s first official appearance of the year will be during the pre-season British GT ‘Media Day’ at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk this coming Tuesday, 3rd March. Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire will be the venue for the opening two races of the season which will be contested on Bank Holiday Monday, 13 April. The championship concludes at Donington Park in September.
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