muscat – Oman’s number one racing driver Ahmad Al Harthy ends his debut year in the FIA World Endurance Championship on a high note after an engine failure ended his big challenge for a podium in the final stages of the season finale in Bahrain on Saturday. I saw that hope disappear.
Al Herthy, who achieved two GTE Am podiums in his maiden WEC campaign with Oman Racing alongside his TF Sport teammates Michael Dinan and Charlie Eastwood, finished the eight-hour contest with an impressive opening. We got off to a very strong start. Stint.
The Omani, whose No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage GTE achieved an impressive third-fastest time on Friday, started the team’s final race of the season and was as fast and competitive as ever.
Although there was a backlash for not being careful in the early stages, the Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth Affairs, OQ, Omantel, and MHD-ITICS supported the racers to avoid tangling with the runners of the LMP2 Prototype Hypercar in front of them. Al Hirsi managed to recover with a perfect drive on the Sakhir track.
As a result of the delay, he dropped to 8th place, but he put on a masterclass in the GTE Am class as he chased hard and overtook race after race. He rallied hard for a podium place in the first hour and his progress continued after he handed over the Aston Martin to Dinant.
Al Hersi took the wheel again in the third hour, running a comfortable third place and looking like he had a good chance of finishing on the podium. Dinant returned to the car midway through the race for a triple stint with Eastwood at the wheel, concluding the showdown in the Middle East.
Eastwood held fifth place with more than two hours remaining, but with more than 90 minutes remaining and less than 25 seconds from the podium, Eastwood returned to fourth place. Further progress was made, and with 30 minutes remaining the gap had narrowed to 18 seconds, and the prospect of silverware seemed clear. However, shortly after that, this challenge came to a tragic end with an engine failure and immediate retirement.
Al Hersi and Oman Racing with TF Sport’s FIA World Endurance Championship ultimately ended in disappointing results, but the drivers achieved a brilliant 5th place in the GTE Am driver rankings in the WEC, and the team and the world rankings. We finished our first season with a great result of 5th place. Team points table.
“It’s very difficult to end a season. Unfortunately we lost the engine with 20 minutes left in the race. We were catching up and the podium was a fair one. Charlie ran a great triple stint at the end. , I watched him close the gap to third place,” said Al Herthy.
“I had a good start to the race, but unfortunately an accident between the LMP2 and the hypercar in front of me made me cautious and I think I dropped to eighth place. It was all about catching up, and I was really happy that I was able to pass as many cars as quickly as possible to make sure I was chasing second place.
“We had an interesting strategy and we had to run to increase the pace, but at the end of the day it’s all a matter of driver development and my performance. I’m really happy with the result and we performed well and did the best he could.
“I would like to express my gratitude to His Excellency Saeed Faisal bin Hareb bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Ambassador of Oman to Bahrain who came to the race with me, to all the Omani sponsors who came to support us at the final race of the season, and to many others. I really want to thank my friends and family, both with us and back home in Oman.
“The support this year has been incredible and it’s a historic year for Oman and a historic year for me. By joining the WEC in 2023, we will be racing at Le Mans for our 100th anniversary. It’s really emotional to sum it all up. We fought to the best of our ability in every race, but now we’re focused on what’s next. I’m so proud of what we accomplished together this year.”
