Latest news with #No.46
Observer
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Harthy, Valentino, Kelvin secure hard-fought 9th at Spa
Team WRT trio Ahmad al Harthy, Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde had to be satisfied with a ninth place result during round three of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Belgium on Saturday, in an encounter where the pace of the No.46 BMW M4 was largely maximised. Aiming to mount a podium challenge ahead of the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, continuing the momentum from their fabulous second place at Imola in Italy last month, other than a speed-limiter glitch in one of the pit-stops the race went fairly faultlessly. Oman's Al Harthy raced very competitively from ninth on the LMGT3 grid during his two hour-plus stint. Making excellent early gains after a superb start, he ensured the team was in the best position possible as the No.46 car spent a good portion of the first 120 minutes in and around the top three. 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship Following the system glitch at Al Harthy's second stop, an unfortunate drive-through penalty had to be served before Rossi and van der Linde then took the concluding parts of the six-hour race at the famous Ardennes track. Qualifying on Saturday went well for Al Harthy, ending the run seventh fastest and just half a second shy of provisional pole. Progressing the Team WRT entry into the all-important Hyperpole session immediately after, which Rossi contested, the Italian ended up ninth in the top 10 grid shoot-out. Following the team's second stop Al Harthy found himself ninth in LMGT3 and into the third hour he climbed back into the top six and worked hard to undo the damage of the penalty stop before Rossi took over. Battling his way back to the tail of the top six by the end of hour three, when the Safety Car was again required, soon after he moved into second as further pit-stops were made. Spa Francorchamps, Belgium Rossi then pitted and rejoined in seventh, climbing up to third with just a couple of hours remaining as the Safety Car circulated once more. At the next pit visit van der Linde took his first race miles with roughly 90 minutes to go and although moving up from the top 12 to fifth, after a final stop with 40 minutes left the South African was 12th again and had to ultimately settle for ninth position. Round four of the FIA WEC season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be contested over the weekend 14th/15th June at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps LMGT3 Race Result: 1st Alessio Rovera / Francois Heriau / Simon Mann (Vista AF Corse / Ferrari 296) 2nd Dennis Olsen / Stefano Gattuso / Gianmarco Levorato (Proton Competition / Ford Mustang) 3rd Davide Rigon / Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci (Vista AF Corse / Ferrari 296) 4th Ben Barker / Bernardo Sousa / Ben Tuck (Proton Competition / Ford Mustang) 5th Mattia Drudi / Ian James / Zacharie Robichon (Heart of Racing Team / Aston Martin Vantage) 9th Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin van der Linde (Team WRT / BMW M4)
Times of Oman
20-04-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Dominant first pole position of FIA WEC season for Al Harthy and Rossi
Ahmad Al Harthy and Team WRT team-mate Valentino Rossi combined perfectly to deliver a sensational first LMGT3 class pole position of the FIA World Endurance Championship season at Imola in Italy on Saturday, 19th April, ahead of today's second race of the 2025 campaign. Omani racer Al Harthy took the main qualifying session at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari and was exceptional throughout, ultimately recording the provisional pole position time of 1m42.731 seconds to ensure the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 progressed to the all-important Hyperpole. Italian hero Rossi took over the car for the second session and he produced a best of 1m42.355 seconds to seal the class pole position for today's 6 Hours of Imola, sparking electrifying celebrations among his home fans. Quick from the off in the first two free practice runs on Friday, 18th April, the Team WRT trio of Al Harthy, Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde ended session one third fastest with a lap of 1m43.453 seconds. Carrying that level of performance through to session two, the No.46 BMW was third again with an improved 1m43.186 seconds, only 0.2 seconds shy of the top. Following the third practice on Saturday morning, where the team ended sixth fastest, OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman supported racer Al Harthy prepared for the short 12 minute qualifying session with the clear aim of trying to progress the car to the subsequent Hyperpole. Immediately pumping in good pace, Al Harthy went fastest on his first full lap with a time of 1m48.984 seconds and the next time around – his first true flyer – the Omani smashed his previous time with a lap of 1m43.718 seconds to remain on top. Quicker still he lowered his best to a 1m43.032 seconds lap, before then dipping below the 1m43 second barrier with a tremendous effort of 1m42.731 seconds to completely dominate the session and end qualifying some 0.7 seconds clear. Rossi took over from Al Harthy for the 10-minute Hyperpole session and he went to the top of the times with his first lap of 1m43.836 seconds, before then slicing eight tenths of a second off his previous best to remain fastest with a time of 1m43.011 seconds. Slipping to fourth with just three minutes to run, Rossi made a final push and delivered a fantastic 1m42.355 seconds to take pole. Ahmad Al Harthy said, 'I'm absolutely delighted with pole, first being fastest in my session and then Valentino fastest in Hyperpole here in Italy. It's fantastic to achieve our first pole position with BMW and WRT in FIA WEC and it's obviously the best place to start the race, I really am delighted. 'Thank you for all of the amazing support we have, our incredible partners, this pole is the first step in us trying to accomplish the results we are all aiming for on the track. I'm really looking forward to the race, Imola is an old school circuit so we do have to be careful and make sure we have the best execution possible.'
Muscat Daily
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Harthy and teammates look to reignite FIA World Endurance Championship hopes at Imola
Muscat – Oman's Ahmad al Harthy is aiming to bid for his first podium of the year in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship in Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola after a break of more than six weeks since the opening round in Qatar. Producing excellent pace in qualifying and race trim during the championship curtain-raiser in late February, the Omani and Team WRT team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde were on course for a strong result. Unfortunately, an issue with the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 harmed the pace they were able to run during the second half of the 10-hour encounter and they had to ultimately settle for an 11th-place finish. Their early race pace performance in Qatar suggests they have a car and set-up capable of challenging for the podium and this weekend's six-hour race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be seen as a fresh start to the squad's season. Imola, of course, is a very happy hunting ground for Al Harthy and Team WRT last year where a genuine bid for LMGT3 victory was only dashed by a late penalty. Nonetheless, Al Harthy, Rossi and then team-mate Maxime Martin still finished an excellent second. Repeating such a performance this time around will be the focus for the No.46 squad, and the power of the challenge will be boosted by the tens of thousands of fans expected to pack the grandstands in support of their home hero Rossi. As always, Al Harthy has unstinting support from his prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman. Additionally, the Omani has, during the break since round one, welcomed new strategic partner Oman LNG to his portfolio. 'We can't wait to be back racing this weekend, and we're all really looking forward to returning to Imola, the scene of our best result last season in FIA WEC,' said Al Harthy. 'Last year's race was amazing, we had a great pace and were very close to actually taking our first LMGT3 win. There's no reason we can't be just as competitive this time around, we're all going to be pushing very hard to fight for the podium.' 'The main aim is to bounce back as strongly as we can after Qatar, things were going well and I was very happy with my triple stint at the beginning. Unfortunately the issue we had with the car meant we couldn't take the fight to the other teams later on, but this weekend is a fresh start in many ways and we're all determined to kick-start our championship.' The 6 Hours of Imola will get underway at 1 pm local time on Sunday and all of the action can be followed at
Times of Oman
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Imola six-hour race next for Oman's Al Harthy as FIA WEC resumes
Following a break of just over six weeks since the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar, the global challenge resumes this coming weekend, 19th/20th April, in Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola – where Ahmad Al Harthy is aiming to bid for his first podium of the year. Producing excellent pace in qualifying and race trim during the championship curtain-raiser in late February, the Omani and Team WRT team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde were on course for a very strong result. Unfortunately, an issue with the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 had a negative impact on the pace they were able to run during the second half of the 10-hour encounter and the trio had to ultimately settle for an 11th place finish. Knowing, from the early race pace performance in Qatar, they have a car and set-up capable of challenging for the podium, this weekend's six-hour race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be seen as a fresh start to the squad's 2025 season. Imola, of course, was a very happy hunting ground for Al Harthy and Team WRT last year where a genuine bid for LMGT3 victory was only dashed by a late penalty. Nonetheless, Al Harthy, Rossi and then team-mate Maxime Martin still secured an excellent second place result. Repeating such a performance this time around will be the focus for the No.46 squad, and the power of the challenge will be boosted by the tens of thousands of fans expected to pack the grandstands in support of their home hero Rossi. As always, Al Harthy has unstinting support for his FIA WEC campaign from his prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman. Ahmad Al Harthy: 'We can't wait to be back racing this weekend and we're all really looking forward to returning to Imola, the scene of our best result last season in FIA WEC. Last year's race was amazing, we had great pace and were very close to actually taking our first LMGT3 win. There's no reason we can't be just as competitive this time around, we're all going to be pushing very hard to fight for the podium. 'The main aim is to bounce back as strongly as we can after Qatar, things were going well and I was very happy with my triple stint at the beginning. Unfortunately the issue we had with the car meant we couldn't take the fight to the other teams later on, but this weekend is a fresh start in many ways and we're all determined to kick-start our championship.' Free practice at Imola begins with two sessions on Friday, 18th April, ahead of session three on Saturday, 19th April which precedes qualifying at 14.30 local time – with Hyperpole following immediately after. The 6 Hours of Imola will get underway at 13.00 local time on Sunday, 20th April.
Times of Oman
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Imola six-hour race next for Al Harthy as FIA WEC resumes
Muscat: Following a break of just over six weeks since the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar, the global challenge resumes this coming weekend, 19th/20th April, in Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola – where Ahmad Al Harthy is aiming to bid for his first podium of the year. Producing excellent pace in qualifying and race trim during the championship curtain-raiser in late February, the Omani and Team WRT team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde were on course for a very strong result. Unfortunately, an issue with the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 had a negative impact on the pace they were able to run during the second half of the 10-hour encounter and the trio had to ultimately settle for an 11th place finish. Knowing, from the early race pace performance in Qatar, they have a car and set-up capable of challenging for the podium, this weekend's six-hour race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be seen as a fresh start to the squad's 2025 season. Imola, of course, was a very happy hunting ground for Al Harthy and Team WRT last year where a genuine bid for LMGT3 victory was only dashed by a late penalty. Nonetheless, Al Harthy, Rossi and then team-mate Maxime Martin still secured an excellent second place result. Repeating such a performance this time around will be the focus for the No.46 squad, and the power of the challenge will be boosted by the tens of thousands of fans expected to pack the grandstands in support of their home hero Rossi. As always, Al Harthy has unstinting support from his prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman. Additionally, the Omani has – during the break since round one – welcomed new strategic partner Oman LNG to his portfolio. Ahmad Al Harthy said: 'We can't wait to be back racing this weekend and we're all really looking forward to returning to Imola, the scene of our best result last season in FIA WEC. Last year's race was amazing, we had great pace and were very close to actually taking our first LMGT3 win. There's no reason we can't be just as competitive this time around, we're all going to be pushing very hard to fight for the podium. 'The main aim is to bounce back as strongly as we can after Qatar, things were going well and I was very happy with my triple stint at the beginning. Unfortunately the issue we had with the car meant we couldn't take the fight to the other teams later on, but this weekend is a fresh start in many ways and we're all determined to kick-start our championship.' Free practice at Imola begins with two sessions on Friday, 18th April, ahead of session three on Saturday, 19th April which precedes qualifying at 14.30 local time – with Hyperpole following immediately after. The 6 Hours of Imola will get underway at 13.00 local time on Sunday, 20th April.
