This weekend, the Blancpain Endurance Series returns with the 3 Hours of Silverstone. Ahmad Al Harthy of Oman Racing Team is looking to score his first points of the season after a disappointing season-opener at Monza in April.
The team of Al Harthy, Jonny Adam and Daniel Lloyd had a strong #44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 for the Italian round, but a series of problems prevented them from scoring a points finish.
Red flag stoppages in qualifying held Oman Racing Team from a top-10 start. Then, a faulty air-jack cost the team valuable time in the pits during the race.
Despite this, Al Harthy and Lloyd had a great result at the Rockingham round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship a few weeks ago, finishing second in the two hour race. As Silverstone is a circuit that suits the Aston Martin much better than Monza does, the trio is sure that they have the pace and potential for a top-10 finish, and perhaps even a podium.
Al Harthy heads to Silverstone after being appointed as an official brand ambassador for Aston Martin in the Middle East and North Africa. Just last weekend, he was named ‘Sportsman of the Year 2014’ by the Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, and so it is fair to say that his future is looking bright.
“For sure, Monza wasn’t the start to the Blancpain season we wanted but there wasn’t anything any of us did wrong, we were just very unfortunate,” he explained. “We’re all determined to get the championship back on track at Silverstone, a circuit I always love racing at and one where we have enjoyed good success in the past.
“It’s going to be very important to score as strongly as we can this weekend, it’s another three hour race so the driving time will be shared pretty evenly between Dan, Jonny and I. We know we’ve got a good car, the main thing is to qualify in the top 10 and if we do that then we have a great chance.”
The 3 Hours of Silverstone will take place from 14:45 local time on Sunday afternoon.
