Al Harthy Belgium-bound as FIA season continues
• Omani excited to be back at Spa, scene of huge racing career successes
• Al Harthy, Rossi, van der Linde determined to build on Imola P2 result
Spa-Francorchamps, venue for some of Ahmad Al Harthy's most spectacular achievements in motor racing, welcomes the FIA World Endurance Championship for round three of the season this Saturday, May 10, where the Omani aims to continue his and Team WRT's podium momentum.
Fresh from a near-victory at Imola in Italy less than three weeks ago, where team-mate Kelvin van der Linde took the chequered flag a mere 0.3 seconds shy of the race win, the duo and fellow Team WRT racer Valentino Rossi are focused on trying to go one better at Spa.
Imola very much marked the true start of the 2025 season for the No 46 BMW M4 LMT3 entry with a spectacular performance – Al Harthy was fastest by some margin in qualifying and Rossi then sealing pole position in Hyperpole.
In the fight for victory throughout, an unfortunate penalty threatened to derail the squad's podium challenge but an outstanding final stint from Van der Linde brought the BMW back through the order superbly to second place, a fraction from the win.
Rocketing up the championship standings into the LMGT3 top six as a result, only eight points shy of the top three, the goal in Belgium is to continue the high level of performance in the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps to solidify their 2025 championship challenge.
Not only that, there is a clear desire for some redemption too after an unfortunate retirement from last year's encounter at Spa. Contact from one of the Hypercar class Porsches midway through hour two ended the BMW's involvement while in the battle for the LMGT3 podium.
Historically, of course, OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman supported racer Al Harthy has a strong affinity with Spa-Francorchamps having enjoyed tremendous success there.
Unquestionably his career highlight at the track to date was Pro-Am class victory in the Total 24 Hours of Spa in 2019 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, then known as the Blancpain Endurance Cup. All achieved from a pitlane start!
Ahmad Al Harthy:
'We're all looking forward to continuing the FIA WEC season at Spa this weekend, Imola was an amazing event and really did kick-start our championship. Everyone at Team WRT did an incredible job, Vale and Kelvin were super quick as always and I was so happy with my performance in both qualifying and the race.
'What can you say about Spa that hasn't already been said? It's an incredible track, one of the best in the world, and we have enjoyed so much success there over the years. I've always loved racing at Spa, the track is an amazing challenge and it's one of those places where I have always seemed to go well. After being so close to the win at Imola, we're aiming to fight just as hard again this weekend.'
Practice at Spa begins on Thursday, May 8, with the opening two sessions ahead of session three on Friday, and then qualifying at 14:40 local time – Hyperpole following straight after. On Saturday, the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will begin at 14:00 local time. Follow live at www.fiawec.com
2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Driver Standings (after Rd2):
1. Ben Keating / Daniel Juncadella / Jonny Edgar, 44 pts
2. Arnold Robin / Finn Gehrsitz, 33 pts
3. Gregoire Saucy / James Cottingham / Sebastien Baud, 27 pts
6. Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin van der Linde, 19 pts
2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Team Standings (after Rd2):
1. TF Sport (Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R), 44 pts
2. Akkodis ASP Team (Lexus RC F LMGT3), 33 pts
3. United Autosports (McLaren 720 S LMGT3 EVO), 27 pts
6. Team WRT (BMW M4 LMGT3), 19 pts
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