Latest news with #AlFaisalalZubair
Observer
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Zubair ready for third round of Misano race
MUSCAT: Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and German team-mate Jens Klingmann return to Sprint Series racing action this weekend when they tackle the third round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Misano in Italy. The pair are tackling the Gold Cup category in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO and currently hold second in both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships following a fifth place and a victory in the two one-hour races at Brands Hatch in England and a pair of third-place finishes at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Emil Frey Racing leads the way in the Teams' Championship on 60 points with Al Manar Racing by Team WRT 18.5 points behind in second place and three clear of a tying Saintéloc Racing and Tresor Attempto Racing. Oman-based Al Zubair said: 'I am really looking forward to going to Misano. It will be my first time racing there. My first time driving there was in March during testing and it was a track that I enjoyed. But I want to see what the racing is like there. We are currently second in the championship, so the most important thing is to collect points and make sure that we are completing the races. 'The target, as always, will be to go for the wins. The competition in Gold Cup has been extremely strong this year but I hope that we can give our rivals a good fight and also push for the overall positions as well.' This weekend's race meeting at Misano on the Italian Adriatic coast has attracted a record 44 entries across the various classes. It is the 11th consecutive year that the circuit has hosted the Sprint Series. Misano is officially known as Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in memory of the local MotoGP rider, who lost his life in a crash in 2011. The 4.226 km circuit is located close to the town of Misano Adriatico in the Rimini province and also hosts the MotoGP World Championship. Competition for Al Manar Racing by Team WRT in Misano comes from the Saintéloc Racing Audi R8, the Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3, Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 and Tresor Attempto Racing's Audi R8 LMS GT3. Free practice takes place on the Italian circuit from 13.40hrs on Friday (July 18th) and precedes an hour of pre-qualifying from 19.20hrs. The first of the two qualifying sessions gets underway at noon on Saturday (July 19th) with Q2 following at 12.15hrs. The opening one-hour gets the green light at 20.15hrs. Sunday's action sees the second qualifying sessions scheduled for 10.25hrs and 10.40hrs, respectively, with race two getting started at 14.45hrs. TEAMS – latest Gold Cup standings: 1. Emil Frey Racing 60pts 2. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT 41.5pts 3. Saintéloc Racing 38.5pts 4. Tresor Attempto Racing 38.5pts 5. Garage 59 25.5pts 6. CSA Racing 9pts DRIVERS – latest Gold Cup standings: 1. Chris Lulham/Thierry Vermeulen 60pts 2. Al-Faisal Al-Zubair/Jens Klingmann 41.5pts 3. Gilles Magnus/Paul Evrard 38.5pts 4. Sebastian Øgaard/Leonardo Moncini 38.5pts 5. Louis Prette/Adam Smalley 25.5pts 6. Arthur Rougier/James Kell 9pts
Muscat Daily
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann aim for sprint success in Italy
Muscat – Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al Faisal al Zubair and his German teammate Jens Klingmann return to Sprint Series racing action this weekend when they tackle the third round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Misano in Italy. The pair are tackling the Gold Cup category in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO and currently hold second in both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships following a fifth place and a victory in the two one-hour races at Brands Hatch in England and a pair of third-place finishes at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Emil Frey Racing leads the way in the Teams' Championship on 60 points with Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT 18.5 points behind in second place and three clear of a tying Saintéloc Racing and Tresor Attempto Racing. Oman-based Al Zubair said: 'I am really looking forward to going to Misano. It will be my first time racing there. My first time driving there was in March during testing and it was a track that I enjoyed. But I want to see what the racing is like there. We are currently second in the championship, so the most important thing is to collect points and make sure that we are completing the races. 'The target, as always, will be to go for the wins. The competition in Gold Cup has been extremely strong this year but I hope that we can give our rivals a good fight and also push for the overall positions as well.' This weekend's race meeting at Misano on the Italian Adriatic coast has attracted a record 44 entries across the various classes. It is the 11th consecutive year that the circuit has hosted the Sprint Series. Misano is officially known as Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in memory of the local MotoGP rider, who lost his life in a crash in 2011. The 4.226km circuit is located close to the town of Misano Adriatico in the Rimini province and also hosts the MotoGP World Championship. Competition for Al Manar Racing by Team WRT in Misano comes from the Saintéloc Racing Audi R8, the Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3, Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 and Tresor Attempto Racing's Audi R8 LMS GT3. Free practice takes place on the Italian circuit from 1.40 pm on Friday and precedes an hour of pre-qualifying from 7.20 pm. The first of the two qualifying sessions gets underway at noon on Saturday with Q2 following at 12.15 pm. The opening one-hour gets the green light at 8.15 pm. Sunday's action sees the second qualifying sessions scheduled for 10.25 am and 10.40 am, respectively, with race two starting at 14.45 pm.
Muscat Daily
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Manar Racing by Team WRT finish fifth in Gold Cup class at Spa
Spa, Belgium – Al Faisal al Zubair, Jens Klingmann, Ben Tuck and Neil Verhagen picked up valuable points after finishing fifth in the Gold Cup category at the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium on Sunday. After qualifying their Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO down in ninth place for the flagship event in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS calendar third round, the quartet quickly made their way into the top five and held fourth place briefly on a few occasions on the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit. In front of a record crowd of over 128,000 people who witnessed the weekend's action, the Al Manar Racing crew completed 546 laps but were just two short of the triumphant Racing Aston Martin and the second-placed Garage 59 McLaren that lost out on a potential victory with a tyre issue in the final hour. The CSA Racing McLaren finished third and the Wright Motorsport Porsche was fourth on the same lap as the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW. The result keeps the team firmly in contention for the Drivers' and Teams' Championships. They now hold second in the Team's series and third in the Drivers' Championship. Al Zubair said: 'The race was not the greatest for us in terms of the result. But, the most important thing was that we did the best we could with the power they gave us with the BMW. 'We saw here that no BMW had the pace to fight for the win this year because of BOP (Balance of Performance). We got an extra 15 kilogrammes (weight penalty) after qualifying. I think that was unjust. I am happy that we finished the race and it is important to gain points for the championship, especially after six hours, 12 and 24. It's tough though after the success of winning last year. 'It wasn't easy. We drove well with no penalties and our averages were consistent. We had a bit of contact in the night but that was due to another driver. Luckily, the car was fine and we finished the race. It wasn't what we aimed for but you cannot win them all. We still have half the season remaining so we have plenty of time.' Klingmann took the wheel for the first session and started the race from ninth in the Gold Cup category. After three laps, the German had climbed to seventh with the Herberth Motorsport Porsche leading the way in the hands of Joel Sturm into the second hour after 24 laps. Tim Heinemann then took over the leading Porsche and Tuck replaced Klingmann in the Al-Manar Racing BMW but the team slipped back to ninth in the changeover. The crew managed to climb to fifth through the 4hr 30min hour mark but slipped back to seventh through 6hr 30min. During the night stint, after 10hr 30min, they had moved back up to fourth and then slipped back to fifth shortly after daybreak. They retained fifth through mid-morning With six hours remaining, Klingmann was again at the wheel and the Al-Manar Racing car was in fifth with the Racing Aston Martin leading the way. Klingmann climbed to fourth with 5hr 40min on the clock but Verhagen took over for the next stint and the team was back in fifth place with four hours left on the clock. The Garage 59 McLaren then snatched the lead. Tuck was give driving duties for the final session and the Briton safely brought the BMW to the finish in fifth place in the Gold Cup section. Thursday morning's free practice session was the Garage 59 McLaren card the quickest lap of 2min 17.422sec to get the better of the Herberth Motorsport Porsche and the Team RJN McLaren. A dozen Gold Cup crews took part in the session and Al-Manar Racing's Verhagen topped the times in the BMW with a lap of 2min 19.042sec. Team RJN's Ben Dörr topped the times in Q1 with a run of 2min 25.102sec, as Al-Zubair slotted into fourth behind Paul Motorsport and Garage 59. The Garage 59 McLaren topped the Q2 times in the hands of Frederik Schandorff and Verhagen was third quickest behind the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. The Garage 59 machine again topped the standings in Q3 in the hands of Dean Macdonald and Ben Tuck was down in fifth place in the Al-Manar Racing BMW. Louis Prette was again on top for the Garage 59 crew in Q4 but Klingmann was down in 11th position in the Al-Manar Racing BMW. With all the times combined, pole position went to the Racing Aston Martin from the two Porsches of Herberth Motorsport and Wright Motorsports. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT qualified in ninth position. The Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW returns to action at Misano for the next round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup on July 18th-20th.
Observer
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Zubair sets sights on golden weekend at Spa
MUSCAT: Oman's Al Faisal al Zubair returns to the scene of one of his greatest racing achievements when he joins forces with Jens Klingmann, Ben Tuck and Neil Verhagen to compete in the Gold Cup category at this weekend's Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Ardennes region. Last year, Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann, Mikaël Grenier and Philip Ellis guided their Al Manar Racing Mercedes to seventh overall and victory in the Gold Cup section. On this occasion, the new team quartet head to Spa topping the standings in the Teams' and Drivers' Championships and will tackle the third round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS in their Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT leads the Teams' Championship by two points from Racing after the opening two endurance rounds at Paul Ricard and Monza. Al Zubair, Klingmann and Tuck hold a similar cushion in the Drivers' Championship. Points are awarded for positions after six, 12 and 24 hours at the season's flagship event at Spa and the talented 24-year-old American driver Neil Verhagen has been recruited as the fourth driver for the Belgian weekend. Al Zubair said: 'Looking forward to Spa 24. This is the biggest race of the year for all of us. It is an important race for us to make sure we gather all the points, especially with it being a 24-hour race with points available at six hours, 12 and 24. It will be important for the championship for us to collect as many as possible during the race. Al Faisal al Zubair 'It is looking very good in the championship at the moment. We are currently second in Sprint and first in Endurance. It has been a great start. Monza was fantastic to carry on the momentum and take it into Spa. We are all prepared and the team knows what it is doing, as they have shown multiple times this year. 'We also have Neil Verhagan on the car. He's a BMW driver who will be joining us and we are excited that he is with us as the fourth driver. Hopefully, it's a race that is even better than last year, if that is possible!' Seventy-three GT3 cars have been entered across the various classes and will take to the track over the weekend in the presence of several members of the Belgian Royal Family. Amongst Al Manar Racing by Team WRT's Gold Cup rivals are CSA Racing, Herberth Motorsport, the Racing Aston Martin, the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi and the Garage 59, Optimum Motorsport and Team RJN McLarens. The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS shares the circuit with the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club, the GT2 European Series, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and McLaren Trophy Europe. On-track action on the demanding 7.004 km circuit gets underway with free practice from 11.20hrs on Thursday (June 26th) and precedes pre-qualifying from 17.40hrs and four qualifying sessions between 21.15hrs and 22.21hrs. Additional night practice will then be allowed from 23.05hrs. A quiet Friday for the GTWC entrants sees Super Pole set for 16.10hrs and then a warm-up session permitted from 20.05hrs. The 24-hour race then gets underway at 16.30hrs on Saturday afternoon and finishes at the same time on Sunday. Al Zubair sets sights on golden weekend at Spa TEAMS – latest Gold Cup standings 1. Al Manar Racing by Team WRT 44pts 2. Racing 42pts 3. CSA Racing 33pts 4. Tresor Attempto Racing 24pts 5. Team RJN 21pts 6. Optimum Motorsport 16pts 6. Paul Motorsport 16pts 8. Herberth Motorsport 12pts, etc DRIVERS – latest Gold Cup standings 1. Al Zubair/Klingmann/Tuck 44pts 2. Lulham/Vermeulen/King 42pts 3. Gachet/Rougier/Kell 33pts 4. Mancini/Øgaard/Cazzaniga 24pts 5. Barr/Foster/Buncombe 21pts, etc
Muscat Daily
02-06-2025
- 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.
