Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann aim to bounce back in France
The BMW M4 GT3 EVO duo suffered a minor setback to their title challenge when they sustained an accident and then a fourth-place finish in the two sprint races at Misano recently. The Omani and his German team-mate now hold fifth place in the Gold Cup's Drivers' and Teams' Championships with 49 points, but a strong showing in France would catapult the duo back into title contention.
Emil Frey Racing's Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen lead the way on 77.5 points from Sainteloc Racing (63.5 points) and Tresor Attempto Racing (54 points). The Garage 59 Team are fourth on 51.5 points.
Oman-based Al Zubair said: 'Really looking forward to Magny-Cours. It's actually a track I've never raced on before. It will definitely not be an easy track for us. We tested there in March so, hopefully, that plays into our hands a little. With the experience we have got with the car, we should hopefully aim for a positive weekend.
'As always, we aim for a podium. We know it won't be easy. But we need to secure some good points for the championship. Misano was a bit difficult after the first race to not score any points. Now we must focus on scoring points this weekend.'
The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers. It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix between 1991 and 2008 and also hosts the Superbike World Championship.
A 40-car field of GT World Challenge Europe competitors will share the 4.411km circuit this weekend with entrants in the FFSA French GT Championship, FFSA French Touring Car Championship and FFSA F4, the Alpine Elf Cup series and the Clio Cup series.
Free practice for the GT World Challenge entrants starts at 13.20hrs on Friday (August 1st) and precedes pre-qualifying from 20.45hrs.
Qualifying for the first of the one-hour Sprint races is scheduled for 14.15hrs on Saturday and race one will get the green light from 20.45hrs. Spectators will then be able to access the pit area from 22.00hrs.
The second qualifying session will take place from 09.00hrs on Sunday and precedes another pit walk for spectators from 13.30hrs. The second of the one-hour races will fire into life at 15.00hrs.
TEAMS – latest Gold Cup standings
1. Emil Frey Racing 77.5 pts
2. Sainteloc Racing 63.5 pts
3. Tresor Attempto Racing 54 pts
4. Garage 59 51.5 pts
5. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT 49 pts
6. CSA Racing 9 pts
7. Barwell Motorsport 4.5 pts
DRIVERS – latest Gold Cup standings
1. Chris Lulham/Thierry Vermeulen 77.5 pts
2. Gilles Magnus/Paul Evrard 63.5 pts
3. Sebastian Ogaard/Leonardo Moncini 54 pts
4. Louis Prette 51.5 pts
5. Al Faisal al Zubair/Jens Klingmann 49 pts
6. Thomas Fleming 26 pts
7. Adam Smalley 25.5 pts
8. Arthur Rougier/James Kell 9 pts
9. Bijoy Garg/Ricky Collard 4.5 pts
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