
Al Zubair returns to Brands Hatch circuit to begin his quest for GT World Challenge Sprint Series
Al Zubair teams up with Jens Klingmann in the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO and faces a 30-car grid with 10 manufacturers represented. The entry is the largest Sprint Cup field to enter a race at the Kent circuit since 2017.
The entry for the pair of one-hour races on Sunday is made up of Pro, Gold and Silver Cup runners with the Bronze Cup entrants starting their campaign later this month at Zandvoort.
Al Zubair said: 'I am really looking forward to the weekend. I think there is a lot to be excited about. This will be my first time ever in the GT World Challenge Sprint Series. That will be a challenge in itself. I hear the pit stops are as fast as possible, so that can win or lose you the race.
'There are a lot of factors in the Sprint series that need to be taken into account. The last time for me at Brands Hatch was in 2016, so nine years ago, a long time. I am looking forward to being back and my first time in a GT car there. Alongside Jens Klingmann, I hope we can come back with a podium and raise the Omani flag once again. That will be our target for this race weekend. The competition is very tough, but we are looking forward to it.'
Competition for Al Manar Racing by Team WRT in the Gold Cup category comes from last year's Sprint Cup-winning Saintleoc Racing Audi duo of Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus, the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3, Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 and the CSA Racing and Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3s.
Free practice gets the on-track action underway at 09.25hrs on Saturday morning (May 3rd) and this precedes an hour of pre-qualifying and the short qualifying session, starting at 16.35hrs.
Race one takes centre stage on the British circuit at 11.00hrs on Sunday (May 4th) with race two firing into life at 15.45hrs.
The GTWC machines will share the weekend's timetable with McLaren Trophy, Equipe Libre and Mini 7s/Miglia entrants.
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Muscat Daily
4 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann look to bounce back in France
Muscat – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann will be hoping to get their 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series challenge back on track at the Magny-Cours circuit in France this weekend. 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 teammate 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 Saintéloc Racing (63.5pts) and Tresor Attempto Racing (54pts). 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 1.20 pm on Friday and precedes pre-qualifying from 8.45 pm. Qualifying for the first of the one-hour Sprint races is scheduled for 2.15 pm on Saturday and race one will get the green light from 8.45 pm. Spectators will then be able to access the pit area from 10. pm The second qualifying session will take place from 09. am on Sunday and precedes another pit walk for spectators from 1.30 pm. The second of the one-hour races will fire into life at 3. pm.


Observer
8 hours ago
- Observer
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann aim to bounce back in France
MUSCAT Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and Jens Klingmann will be hoping to get their 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series challenge back on track at the Magny-Cours circuit in France this weekend. 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


Times of Oman
17 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Al-Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann aim to bounce back in France
MUSCAT: Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and Jens Klingmann will be hoping to get their 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series challenge back on track at the Magny-Cours circuit in France this weekend. 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 Saintéloc Racing (63.5pts) and Tresor Attempto Racing (54pts). 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 77.5pts 2. Saintéloc Racing 63.5pts 3. Tresor Attempto Racing 54pts 4. Garage 59 51.5pts 5. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT 49pts 6. CSA Racing 9pts 7. Barwell Motorsport 4.5pts DRIVERS – latest Gold Cup standings 1. Chris Lulham/Thierry Vermeulen 77.5pts 2. Gilles Magnus/Paul Evrard 63.5pts 3. Sebastian Øgaard/Leonardo Moncini 54pts 4. Louis Prette 51.5pts 5. Al-Faisal Al-Zubair/Jens Klingmann 49pts 6. Thomas Fleming 26pts 7. Adam Smalley 25.5pts 8. Arthur Rougier/James Kell 9pts 9. Bijoy Garg/Ricky Collard 4.5pts