Ahmad al Harthy mounted a strong challenge for the GTE Am pole position during qualifying for round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Portimao in Portgual on Saturday, 15th April, but had to settle for fifth place due to yellow flags while on his quickest lap.
Ultimately ending up just half a second shy of pole, and only 0.3 seconds away from the front row of the grid, the Oman Racing with TF Sport driver was very happy with his performance and confident the team has a strong car for this afternoon’s race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
Producing a best lap time of 1m49.904 seconds, the Aston Martin Vantage racer had posted best sectors in the first and second portions of the lap and was on course for more. Due to the yellow flags though, the result of a stricken car, the Omani missed out on a front row starting slot.
Prior to the all-important qualifying run, Al Harthy and team-mates Michael Dinan and Charlie Eastwood had made good progress with the No.25 car across the three free practice sessions – two on Friday, 14th April, and one more on Saturday morning.
Improving by almost 1.5 seconds between FP1 and FP3, the Oman Racing with TF Sport squad clearly delivered a competitive car for qualifying and Al Harthy – who is supported by prestigious partners Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, OQ, Omantel and MHD-ITICS – is sure the same will be true for the 6 Hours of Portimao later today.
Going into his second race in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Al Harthy and the Oman Racing squad hold ninth in the driver and team standings following a ninth place finish during the season-opening event last month at Sebring in the USA.
Ahmad al Harthy:
“We gave it all we had in qualifying. I had a very quick lap, I did my best sectors in sector one and sector two, but then there was a yellow flag so I had to back off. It’s when the tyres were at their best as well, so it was unfortunate, but we still start a respectable P5 for the race. I’m looking forward to a good, clean six hours of racing.
“We worked hard during practice for a good qualifying and race set-up, and the Oman Racing with TF Sport guys have done a fantastic job as they always do. We can definitely fight strongly from P5 so we’re aiming for a strong race and to come away with a good result.”
Round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Portimao, will begin at 12.00 local time later today. Live timing and live coverage is available through the FIA WEC App and at www.fiawec.com
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