Saturday 28 / September / 2024
Fresh from the biggest race in world motorsport, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Oman’s number one racing driver Ahmad Al Harthy is preparing for his second twice-round-the-clock contest in as many weeks just a few days from now, the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Round two of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup season, taking place this coming weekend, 29th/30th June, is arguably the greatest race in the world solely for GT3 cars and Al Harthy is relishing the prospect of being back at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.
As a track where the Omani has enjoyed outstanding success over the years in GT endurance racing, not least with past class victory in the 24 Hours of Spa, Al Harthy is looking forward to being back in action with OQ by Oman Racing team-mates Sam De Haan and Jens Klingmann. The squad expands to four drivers for the longest race of the campaign, with Australia’s Calan Williams joining the trio.
At the first event of the GTWCE Endurance Cup season, a visit to Circuit Paul Ricard in France in early April, the No.30 entry got their Bronze class campaign underway with sixth – a podium bid impacted by an unfortunate track limits penalty for De Haan midway through the three-hour race.
In his maiden year of racing with the BMW M4 LMGT3, and also with Team WRT powering the OQ by Oman Racing entry, Al Harthy has adapted to the fresh challenge impressively. Whether at the first race of the GTWCE season, or his dual programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi, the Omani has shown impressive pace and performance.
With key support from prestigious partners OQ, Oman Ministry of Culture Sports and Youth, Omantel and BMW Oman, two-time GTWCE Endurance Cup Pro-Am class Champion Al Harthy is determined to push for a season-best showing at Spa and climb the Bronze class points table.
The 2024 staging of the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa is the landmark 100-year anniversary race and, as is always the case, there will be a spectacular packed grid of GT3 machinery with 66 entries set to contest this incredible encounter.
Ahmad Al Harthy:
“It’s been a very busy few weeks with the Le Mans 24 Hours and now the Spa 24 Hours. This is why we’re here, though, to be part of the biggest endurance races in the world and to challenge the very best drivers and teams out there in GT3 racing, while proudly flying the flag for Oman. There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes, the demands of a 24 hour race are not insignificant, and I’m very happy with our preparations.
“It’s great to be back with OQ by Oman Racing for the second race of the GTWCE Endurance season, and I’m obviously looking forward to being back with Sam and Jens and, of course, working with Calan for the first time. I always love racing at Spa, we’ve had some incredible moments in the 24 Hours before and it would be amazing if we can create more special memories this weekend.”
The opening three-hour Bronze test session takes place later today at Spa-Francorchamps, starting at 14.55 local time, with the drivers and teams then taking part in the annual parade to Spa city centre on Wednesday, 26th June.
Track action resumes on Thursday, 27th June, with a free practice session at 11.20 local time, followed by pre-qualifying at 16.30. Qualifying will then begin at 20.35 local time. For the entries which progress to Superpole, that session will take place on Friday, 28th June, at 15.45 local time and there will be a half-hour ‘warm-up, that evening at 20.10.
The big race itself, the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, will commence at 16.30 local time on Saturday, 29th June.
2024 GTWCE Endurance Cup Bronze Class Standings (after Rd1)
1st David Fumanelli / Niccolo Schiro / Nicolo Rosi, 25pts
2nd Jef Machiels / Andrea Bertolini / Louis Machiels, 18pts
3rd Kobe Pauwels / John De Wilde / Job Van Uitert, 15pts
4th Jonathan Hui / Chris Froggatt / Eddie Cheever, 12pts
5th Ben Tuck / Matt Bell / John Hartshorne, 10pts
6th Ahmad Al Harthy / Jens Klingmann / Sam De Haan, 8pts
