Latest news with #AlFaisalalZubair
Muscat Daily
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Zubair leads Al-Manar to Gold Cup victory at Monza
Monza– Al Faisal al Zubair and his Al Manar Racing by Team WRT teammates Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck secured a Gold Cup class win and finished fourth overall in the second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS at Monza on Sunday. In their BMW M4 GT3 EVO, the team executed a well-timed pit stop strategy to climb from seventh on the grid to take top honours in the Gold Cup. The race, interrupted several times by yellow flags, tested the drivers' consistency and composure across three hours of endurance racing. Al Zubair, who took the opening stint, navigated a competitive field and maintained pressure during the early phases of the race. 'I'm happy to clinch the win in the Gold Cup Category,' said Al Zubair. 'Honestly, this is a dream come true. Especially because we started the race from seventh on the grid. But the strategy from Team WRT was excellent.' He added, 'We had the speed throughout the weekend, but in qualifying we faced some issues, particularly in Q3. Fourth position in the overall classification and winning the Gold Cup category, this was fantastic. I'm very proud to raise the Omani flag high. We are aiming to achieve even more.' The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will resume with the prestigious Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa from June 25 to 29.
Observer
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Zubair, Klingmann claim podium finishes in Zandvoort
MUSCAT: Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and Jens Klingmann picked up a pair of podium finishes in the Gold Cup category at the two one-hour Sprint races in round two of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. They guided the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO to third overall in race one on Saturday and repeated the feat at the Dutch circuit on Sunday afternoon to remain in contention for the Teams' and Drivers' Championships. Both drivers showcased their potential in both attacking and defensive driving during the course of the two absorbing races. Al Zubair said: 'Very happy with the result. To come to the first time ever to Zandvoort and to finish P3 in a new car and a new team in the Sprint Championship is something we should be very happy with. On Saturday, we were close to second place but we lost position at the end of race one and finished third. 'Today, we were a solid P3 after a hard fight with the Sainteloc Audi. That made it quite fun. The most important thing now is that we are collecting solid points and we can hopefully continue on this path and secure top spot in the championship.' Victory in the first of the weekend's races went to the Saintéloc Racing Audi with the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari edging out the Al Manar Racing crew for second place. Klingmann then qualified the Al Manar Racing BMW in third place for the second of the one-hour Sprint races on Sunday with a best lap of 1min 34.508sec. Pole position went to Chris Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. Thierry Vermeulen of Emil Frey Racing passed the chequered flag to secure the win in race two. The Tresor Attempto Racing Audi finished second and Al Zubair brought the Al Manar Racing BMW home in third place just behind Leonardo Moncini in the Audi. Free practice got proceedings underway on Friday morning and the Al-Manar Racing duo got their weekend off to the perfect start by topping the session. They ran the Team WRT BMW for 50 laps and clocked the fastest tour of 1min 34.232sec on lap 17. The Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 was their closest rival with a best run of 1min 34.550sec. Pre-qualifying followed in the afternoon and the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a best tour of 1min 34.334sec. Al Manar Racing's best run was a 1min 35.095sec lap. Sainteloc Racing's Gilles Magnus topped the times with a lap of 1min 33.033sec in Q1 and the Al Manar Racing BMW was down in fifth place with a best run of 1min 33.930sec. That meant the crew started the opening race from the rear of the Gold Cup grid. Action in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup resumes at Monza in Italy on May 30-June 1.
Muscat Daily
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair claims two podium finishes in Zandvoort sprint races
Muscat – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and Jens Klingmann picked up a pair of podium finishes in the Gold Cup category at the two one-hour Sprint races in round two of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. They guided the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO to third overall in race one on Saturday and repeated the feat at the Dutch circuit on Sunday afternoon to remain in contention for the Teams' and Drivers' Championships. Both drivers showcased their potential in both attacking and defensive driving during the course of the two absorbing races. Al Zubair said: 'Very happy with the result. To come to Zandvoort for the first time and finish P3 in a new car and a new team in the Sprint Championship is something we should be very happy with. On Saturday, we were close to second place but we lost position at the end of race one and finished third. 'Today, we were a solid P3 after a hard fight with the Sainteloc Audi. That made it quite fun. The most important thing now is that we are collecting solid points and we can hopefully continue on this path and secure top spot in the championship.' Victory in the first of the weekend's races went to the Sainteloc Racing Audi with the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari edging out the Al Manar Racing crew for second place. Klingmann then qualified the Al Manar Racing BMW in third place for the second of the one-hour Sprint races on Sunday with a best lap of 1min 34.508sec. Pole position went to Chris Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. Thierry Vermeulen of Emil Frey Racing passed the chequered flag to secure the win in race two. The Tresor Attempto Racing Audi finished second and Al Zubair brought the Al Manar Racing BMW home in third place just behind Leonardo Moncini in the Audi. Free practice got proceedings underway on Friday morning and the Al Manar Racing duo got their weekend off to the perfect start by topping the session. They ran the Team WRT BMW for 50 laps and clocked the fastest tour of 1min 34.232sec on lap 17. The Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 was their closest rival with a best run of 1min 34.550sec. Pre-qualifying followed in the afternoon and the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a best tour of 1min 34.334sec. Al Manar Racing's best run was a 1min 35.095sec lap. Sainteloc Racing's Gilles Magnus topped the times with a lap of 1min 33.033sec in Q1 and the Al Manar Racing BMW was down in fifth place with a best run of 1min 33.930sec. That meant the crew started the opening race from the rear of the Gold Cup grid. Action in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup resumes at Monza in Italy on May 30th-June 1st.
Observer
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair eyes success on Zandvoort debut
MUSCAT: Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair teams up with Jens Klingmann again to make his racing debut at the Dutch Zandvoort circuit at the second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series this weekend (May 16-18) in the Netherlands. Fresh from winning the second of the two one-hour races at Brands Hatch in England two weeks ago that has firmly put the Omani and his German team-mate into early title contention, the pair again lay faith in the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO as they chase Gold Cup honours. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT currently holds second place in the Teams' Championship, just half a point behind CSA Racing, and are third in the Drivers' Championship (41.5 points) behind Thierry Vermeulen/Chris Lulham (54.5 points) and Arthur Rougier/James Kell (42 points). Al Manar Racing by Team WRT currently holds second place in the Teams' Championship. Al Zubair said: 'Looking forward to the weekend in Zandvoort. Like the first round, it is going to be a very difficult track. I have never personally raced there before. Luckily, we tested there in March, so a bit of track time definitely helps. 'After a good weekend at Brands Hatch, we go straight to the second round here. We need to keep the ball rolling, keep it consistent and go for the points. That will be important at the end of the championship and that is the target for us.' Bronze Cup entrants bolster the Zandvoort grid to a record 41 cars and join forces with the Pro, Gold and Silver Cup entrants. This is only the third time in Sprint Cup history that the number has exceeded 40. The race weekend will also be shared with competitors in the GT2 and GT4 European Series and the GB3 Championship. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT are third in the Drivers' Championship (41.5 points). Competition for Al Manar Racing by Team WRT comes from the Sainteloc Racing and Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3, the Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 and the CSA Racing and Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3s. Free practice takes place on the Dutch coastal track from 10.20hrs on Friday (May 16) and precedes an hour of pre-qualifying from 15.10hrs. The first qualifying session fires into life at 10.0hrs on Saturday (May 17) and the first of the one-hour races gets underway at 15.00hrs. Sunday's action sees the second qualifying session start at the earlier time of 09.00hrs with race two getting the green light from 14.45hrs.
Muscat Daily
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair eyes sprint success on his Zandvoort debut
Muscat – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair teams up with Jens Klingmann again to make his racing debut at the Dutch Zandvoort circuit at the second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series this weekend (May 16th-18th) in the Netherlands. Fresh from winning the second of the two one-hour races at Brands Hatch in England two weeks ago that has firmly put the Omani and his German team-mate into early title contention, the pair again lay faith in the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO as they chase Gold Cup honours. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT currently holds second place in the Teams' Championship, just half a point behind CSA Racing, and are third in the Drivers' Championship (41.5pts) behind Thierry Vermeulen/Chris Lulham (54.5pts) and Arthur Rougier/James Kell (42pts). Al Zubair said: 'Looking forward to the weekend in Zandvoort. Like the first round, it is going to be a very difficult track. I have never personally raced there before. Luckily, we tested there in March, so a bit of track time definitely helps. 'After a good weekend at Brands Hatch, we go straight to the second round here. We need to keep the ball rolling, keep it consistent and go for the points. That will be important at the end of the championship and that is the target for us.' Bronze Cup entrants bolster the Zandvoort grid to a record 41 cars and join forces with the Pro, Gold and Silver Cup entrants. This is only the third time in Sprint Cup history that the number has exceeded 40. The race weekend will also be shared with competitors in the GT2 and GT4 European Series and the GB3 Championship. Competition for Al Manar Racing by Team WRT comes from the Saintéloc Racing and Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3, the Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 and the CSA Racing and Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3s. Free practice takes place on the Dutch coastal track from 10.20 am. on Friday (May 16th) and precedes an hour of pre-qualifying from 3.10 pm. The first qualifying session fires into life at 10 am on Saturday (May 17th) and the first of the one-hour races gets underway at 3 pm. Sunday's action sees the second qualifying session start at the earlier time of 9 am with race two getting the green light from 2.45 pm.
