Latest news with #Al-Zubair
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Qatari driver Al Attiyah notches up 17th victory at Jordan Rally
Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah won all but one of the 12 gravel special stages on his way to a comfortable 17th victory in the Jordan Rally on Saturday. The success took the iconic Škoda Fabia RS driver to a record 90th career MERC rally win, as he closes in on an unprecedented 20th regional title since 2003. The new partnership with his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera has a 100% winning record with the duo now taking victories at the opening four rounds of this year's FIA Middle East Rally Championship in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and now Jordan. Al-Attiyah: 'I am so happy to win again here in Jordan for the 17th time. This means a lot to me. This year we have won every rally so far. It feels like a good year, leading the Middle East Championship and leading the W2RC. For this rally, I will give it 10 out of 10. Today, we controlled the pace and tried to make a gap in case we had a puncture.' Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud maintained the pressure on the Qatari throughout day one but a time-consuming puncture delayed the Omani on Saturday's opening Panorama stage and a second issue on stage 10 proved too much for the 2023 regional champion. He finished second overall. Al-Rawahi said: 'It was a long two days for us. The first day was quite good, especially with the pace and we were very close to Nasser. Unfortunately, today we had some punctures and we lost some time. Overall, we are very happy with our performance. It has been the closest we have been to him in the battle. 'We don't really have enough seat time in the car. After this rally I have three months off not really driving my car. My car is also an older generation and there is experience difference between me and Nasser. That is why it is good that he is in the championship. He helps us to push and get closer to him. It is still good. We wanted to win but we are still happy.' Qatar's Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and his Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore tried different set-ups with their Citroën C3 but struggled to match the pace of the leading duo on this occasion. They did enough to round off the podium places. Rakan Al-Rashed's main target was to finish the event and the Saudi again teamed up with Portugal's Hugo Magalhāes in a Jameel Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris. Cruelly, his Yaris sustained substantial damage after an accident on the penultimate stage he was forced out. Lebanese driver Bassel Abu Hamdan and his co-driver Firas Elias benefitted from his demise to round off the top four in a Škoda Fabia. Oman's Abdullah Al-Zubair led the MERC2 field from start-to-finish with co-driver Taha Al-Tadjali to strengthen his push for the overall title. Fellow countryman Zakariya Al-Aamri had arrived in Jordan with a 15-point lead over Al-Zubair but his rival's success and fifth place overall has thrown the battle wide open with two rallies remaining. Al-Aamri finished second in the category and eighth overall. Al-Zubair said: 'We are happy with this result, It is a very difficult race. It is also very hot. It was our first time here. The first day we were flat out and won every stage. Today, we took it slow. We had a good lead and the strategy paid off.' Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya continued his run of consistent form to bring his Ford Fiesta to the Dead Sea finish in sixth overall with co-driver Ziad Chehab. That result was sufficient for the Qatari veteran to seal success in the inaugural FIA Master MERC Championship with two rounds to run. The Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Shadi Shaban were classified in seventh and ninth overall. Tenth place was sufficient for Rashid Al-Mohannadi to take victory over Saad Al-Harqan and Payyaakkal 'Saneem' Panikkaveettil in the FIA MERC4 category and to seal the championship title in his Peugeot 208 with two rounds to spare. Al-Rawahi earned victory in the second round of the Jordan National Championship with Shaker Jweihan claiming second place ahead of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez. A first pass through the iconic Panorama stage of 17.12km opened proceedings on the final morning. Palestine's Hamada Uda was the only driver not to restart. Outside temperatures were already up to 31°C at the start of the stage with a peak of 37°C in the afternoon. Surface cleaning was evident on the opener but Al-Attiyah laid down the gauntlet with a time of 11min 38.0sec. That smashed the existing stage record by six seconds. Al-Rawahi dropped 32.3 seconds with tyre damage on a front-right wheel and that enabled Al-Attiyah to extend his lead to 45.8 seconds. Al-Kuwari was second quickest but remained a long way behind the leading duo. Al-Zubair continued to dominate MERC2 from sixth overall but Mohammed Al-Shorafa was in trouble and retired with broken steering.
Times of Oman
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Omani colours glow as Al Faisal Al Zubair powers to Gold Cup glory under grey skies at Brands Hatch
MUSCAT: Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and team-mate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch circuit in England on Sunday. After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kick start their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint race two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Al-Zubair said: 'Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track and we didn't have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy. 'We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this and we can look forward to the rest of the season.' Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change. Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps. Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the chequered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing. Race two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Saintéloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front. The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Saintéloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win race two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps. Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1min 24.186sec that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1min 23.178sec. Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1min 24.720sec and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1min 24.122sec. Qualifying was split into two sessions and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1min 24.626sec and that put him in sixth in the stint with Thierry Vermeuelen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1min 23.374sec. Klingmann faired slightly better in Q2 and was classified in fifth of the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1min 24.012sec with Chris Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour sprint races.
Times of Oman
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Omani Colours Glow Aa Al-Faisal Al-Zubair Powers to Gold Cup Glory under Grey Skies at Brands Hatch
MUSCAT: Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and team-mate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch circuit in England on Sunday. After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kick start their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint race two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Al-Zubair said: 'Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track and we didn't have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy. 'We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this and we can look forward to the rest of the season.' Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change. Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps. Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the chequered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing. Race two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Saintéloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front. The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Saintéloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win race two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps. Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1min 24.186sec that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1min 23.178sec. Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1min 24.720sec and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1min 24.122sec. Qualifying was split into two sessions and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1min 24.626sec and that put him in sixth in the stint with Thierry Vermeuelen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1min 23.374sec. Klingmann faired slightly better in Q2 and was classified in fifth of the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1min 24.012sec with Chris Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour sprint races.
Times of Oman
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Al Faisal Al Zubair returns to iconic Brands Hatch circuit to begin his quest for GT World Challenge Sprint Series
MUSCAT: Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Faisal Al-Zubair returns to racing action in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS this weekend to tackle the opening round of the Sprint Series at the nostalgic Brands Hatch circuit in southern England. 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.
Times of Oman
13-04-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Al Zubair flies Omani flag high with podium finish at Paul Ricard
Paul Ricard (France): Al Faisal Al Zubair made a strong start to the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS, proudly raising the Omani flag on the podium after securing third place in the Gold Cup category and an impressive 10th overall at the six-hour season opener at Paul Ricard. Racing with Al Manar Racing by Team WRT, Al Faisal, alongside teammates Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck, delivered a standout performance that sets the tone for a strong season ahead. After qualifying their BMW M4 GT3 EVO in sixth place, the trio gradually moved through the field and looked set to finish second until Racing's Harry King made a late pass on the BMW and snatched the runner-up spot behind the triumphant CSA Racing McLaren of Arthur Rougier, James Kell and Simon Gachet. Al-Zubair said: 'I'm proud to raise Oman's flag on the podium again. I think finishing 10th overall and third in class on our first time together in GT World Challenge Europe is something we should be proud of. I am happy with how the car performed. We struggled quite a bit in qualifying, but making it into the top 10 and being the third BMW to finish is great. It's a good sign for the rest of the season. Thanks to the team!' The Garage 59 McLaren hit the front of the overall race heading into the second hour and Ben Tuck retained sixth place and was running around a lap behind the leading driver Dean McDonald. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT climbed to fifth soon after and maintained fifth through the 2.5-hour mark. The Garage 59 McLaren continued to lead the Gold Cup category into three and a half hours of the race, but had slipped to fourth in the overall classification, as the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW remained in fifth. The leading McLaren hit trouble in the next segment and, with 90 minutes of the race to run, the CSA Racing McLaren led the Gold Cup category and canny strategies had seen Tuck, Klingmann and Al-Zubair climb to second place. With 30 minutes of the race remaining, Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT retained second place only to be overtaken late on by the Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO. The Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT trio used the free practice session on Friday morning to shakedown the BMW with Klingmann setting the best lap of 1min 54.889sec in dry conditions. That put the team just 0.470 seconds off the fastest Gold Cup lap time set by the Garage 59 McLaren. After a short pre-qualifying session on Friday evening, attention turned to the all-important qualifying stints on Saturday morning. With the three qualifying sessions combined, pole position in the Gold Cup category went to Adam Smalley, Dean McDonald and Louise Prette in the Garage 69 McLaren with an average qualifying lap of 1min 54.102sec. Al-Zubair, Klingmann and Tuck qualified the BMW M4 in sixth place with a best average time of 1min 54.682sec, their best tour of 1min 54.110sec coming in Q3. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT now switches its attention to the opening round of the Sprint series at Brands Hatch in England on May 3rd-4th.
