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Muscat Daily
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Zubair and Klingmann clinch podium in France
Muscat – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and Jens Klingmann followed up a superb second place in the Gold Cup category in the first Sprint race with fourth position in race two at the latest round of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Magny-Cours in France. The BMW M4 GT3 EVO duo initially finished third in race one and were promoted to second after a post-race penalty was applied to one of their Gold Cup rivals. The duo started at the rear of the Gold Cup grid for race two but managed to move up two positions to take points for fourth place. Oman-based Al Zubair said: 'It was a tough weekend. It was difficult. I think we maximised what we had with the BMW. Compared to some of the other manufacturers, it was almost impossible to do any better. Saying that, it's good points for the championship, but, at this rate, we are a little out of hand. 'P2 was good yesterday. I don't think we could have done any better. We were slower than the other cars. In Sprint we are fourth now in the championship. We were strong in testing here and we get 30kg more (weight penalty) and 30mm more. It depends what we get for the final round.' The result now means that Emil Frey Racing's Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen lead the series on 90 points from Saintéloc Racing (87.5pts) and the Garage 59 Team (80pts). Tresor Attempto Racing (73pts) and Al Manar Racing by Team WRT remain fifth with 68.5 points. Klingmann took part in the first qualifying session and a best run of 1min 36.921sec gave the German fourth place on the grid behind the pole-winning Chris Lulham of Emil Frey Racing, the Garage 59 McLaren and Saintéloc Racing's Audi. Tresor Attempto Racing and Barwell Motorsport line duo in fifth and sixth on the grid for the first of the one-hour Sprint races in the evening. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint in Sprint race one and made good progress with the car well-placed in third after the driver changeover with Al Zubair taking the wheel. Al Zubair went on to put in a superb stint behind the wheel of the BMW under the lights and was rewarded with second place in the final results of the race behind Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren after a post-race penalty had been applied to one of his rivals that lifted the BMW up a place in the rankings. The Tresor Attempto Racing Audi rounded off the podium places. The result also lifted Al Manar Racing by Team WRT back into title contention. Al Zubair carded a best lap of 1min 37.269sec in the second qualifying session for Sprint race two and that put the Al-Manar Racing BMW in sixth place on the starting grid for the Gold Cup runners. Pole position went to the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari with a time of 1min 36.107sec. Al Zubair made a strong start, quickly passed Sebastian Øgaard in the Tresor Attempto Racing Adi to snatch fifth place and set his sights on the Garage 59 McLaren. But the Omani was repassed by the Audi and had to come back from sixth place again. The driver changeover ran smoothly and Klingmann settled into fifth position with just under half an hour remaining. He managed to pass Bijoy Garg in the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini and set his sights on third-placed Leonardo Moncini in the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. A full course yellow hampered any thoughts of progress towards the end of the race but action did resume with a few minutes remaining on the clock. Klingmann retained fourth place to the chequered flag with the win falling to Saintéloc Racing from the Garage 59 team and Tresor Attempto Racing.
Muscat Daily
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- 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
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- 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
Observer
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Zubair finishes fourth in Misano race track
MISANO, Italy: Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and German colleague Jens Klingmann overcame the disappointment of a first-lap retirement from race one to finish fourth in the Gold Cup category in race two at the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series on Sunday. At the wheel of their BMW M4 GT3 EVO, the duo performed well in the practice and qualifying sessions at the demanding Misano track in Italy, but Al Zubair was handed a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for race two after the disappointment of the premature retirement from race one. The second race was red-flagged in the early stages and there was a significant delay while circuit Armco was repaired. It developed into the longest one-hour race in history and took 3hr 18min to complete by the time the safety aspect of the circuit run-off area had been secured. Al Zubair eventually handed over to Klingmann for the final 30 minutes but the Al Manar Racing duo could not make further in-roads and had to settle for fourth place in the Gold Cup category and 20th overall behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Saintéloc Racing Audi and the race one-winning Garage 59 McLaren. Al Zubair said: 'It was a long race and I think it was a bit difficult because we had a grid penalty to start. We started P32 (overall) but the car felt mega the whole race. We made it up to P21 in my stint but, unfortunately, we lost a bit of time in the pits, about seven seconds, and that dropped us out of P3 in Gold Cup. We finished P4. After collecting no points in the first race on Saturday, it was difficult and not the best weekend for us. We hope to collect more points at the next one and continue the fight for the championship. In race one, there was a bit of contact at turn six between my team-mate Jens, Chris Lulham and Maxime Martin. We were out of the race but we also got a penalty, so to finish P4 today is a result we should be happy with. Having the car working so well all weekend made it even more frustrating.' Al Manar Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO car Al Zubair and Klingmann made the perfect start to their race weekend by topping the times in the free practice session on Friday afternoon. They ran for 49 laps with a fastest run of 1min 33.026sec to lead the way from Emil Frey Racing and Saintéloc Racing. They then went on to top the Gold Cup times in the evening's pre-qualifying session. Klingmann finished first qualifying in second place behind Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari and would line up in second place in the Gold Cup category and eighth overall on the grid for the first of the one-hour races. The Garage 59 McLaren was third. But lady luck determined that Klingmann's challenge for honours in the first of the races would be short-lived: after a twilight start, the German was clouted from behind after a few turns of lap one and was only able to limp to the pits with rear suspension damage before the Al Manar Racing BMW was sidelined. The incident also took out pole sitter Lulham and the Briton's demise paved the way for Louis Prette to secure victory in the Gold Cup section for the Garage 59 McLaren after 36 laps of racing. The Monaco driver came home just ahead of Gilles Magnus in the Saintéloc Racing Audi and Leonardo Moncini in the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Ricky Collard retired the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini after 11 laps. The race one disappointment left Al Zubair with it all to do in Sunday morning's qualifying for the second race. Magnus claimed pole for Saintéloc Racing and the Omani settled into fourth place with a best run of 1min 32.952sec after the BMW had been repaired by Team WRT technicians. Unfortunately, Al Zubair was then handed a five-place penalty on the starting grid, as a result of the incident involving his team-mate in race one. A team appeal had successfully reduced the penalty from an original 10-place drop on the starting grid. The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series resumes with round four at Magny-Cours in France on August 1-3.
Muscat Daily
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Zubair, Klingmann recover from race one crash to finish fourth in second Sprint Series race at Misano
Misano, Italy – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and German colleague Jens Klingmann overcame the disappointment of a first-lap retirement from race one to finish fourth in the Gold Cup category in race two at the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series on Sunday. At the wheel of their BMW M4 GT3 EVO, the duo performed well in the practice and qualifying sessions at the demanding Misano track in Italy, but Al Zubair was handed a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for race two after the disappointment of the premature retirement from race one. The second race was red-flagged in the early stages and there was a significant delay while circuit armco was repaired. It developed into the longest one-hour race in history and took 3hr 18min to complete by the time the safety aspect of the circuit run-off area had been secured. Al Zubair eventually handed over to Klingmann for the final 30 minutes but the Al Manar Racing duo could not make further in-roads and had to settle for fourth place in the Gold Cup category and 20th overall behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Saintéloc Racing Audi and the race one-winning Garage 59 McLaren. Oman-based Al Zubair said: 'It was a long race and I think it was a bit difficult because we had a grid penalty to start. We started P32 (overall) but the car felt mega the whole race. We made it up to P21 in my stint but, unfortunately, we lost a bit of time in the pits, about seven seconds, and that dropped us out of P3 in Gold Cup. 'We finished P4. After collecting no points in the first race on Saturday, it was difficult and not the best weekend for us. We hope to collect more points at the next one and continue the fight for the championship. 'In race one, there was a bit of contact at turn six between my team-mate Jens, Chris Lulham and Maxime Martin. We were out of the race but we also got a penalty, so to finish P4 today is a result we should be happy with. Having the car working so well all weekend made it even more frustrating.' Al Zubair and Klingmann made the perfect start to their race weekend by topping the times in the free practice session on Friday afternoon. They ran for 49 laps with a fastest run of 1min 33.026sec to lead the way from Emil Frey Racing and Saintéloc Racing. They then went on to top the Gold Cup times in the evening's pre-qualifying session. Klingmann finished first qualifying in second place behind Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari and would line up in second place in the Gold Cup category and eighth overall on the grid for the first of the one-hour races. The Garage 59 McLaren was third. But lady luck determined that Klingmann's challenge for honours in the first of the races would be short-lived: after a twilight start, the German was clouted from behind after a few turns of lap one and was only able to limp to the pits with rear suspension damage before the Al-Manar Racing BMW was sidelined. The incident also took out pole sitter Lulham and the Briton's fall paved the way for Louis Prette to secure victory in the Gold Cup section for the Garage 59 McLaren after 36 laps of racing. The Monaco driver came home just ahead of Gilles Magnus in the Saintéloc Racing Audi and Leonardo Moncini in the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Ricky Collard retired the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini after 11 laps. The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series resumes with round four at Magny-Cours in France on August 1st-3rd.
