Latest news with #Rolex6HoursofSaoPaulo
Muscat Daily
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Points return for Al Harthy and Team WRT at Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo
Muscat – Oman's Ahmad al Harthy and his teammates – Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde – delivered a gritty and determined performance to secure a hard-earned top-10 finish at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo on Sunday, as the FIA World Endurance Championship entered its second half. Contesting an uphill battle all weekend at Interlagos, the Team WRT trio and the squad maximised the performance available to them with the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 after overcoming a difficult qualifying on Saturday. 'I think it was a very strong race for us, we managed to make up so many positions throughout the six hours and to finish with a championship point makes all of the effort worth it,' said Al Harthy. 'We know we're not the most competitive car at the moment but hopefully things can change quickly for Austin. 'We executed a perfect race, I would say one of the best executed in terms of teams, so that's a very proud thing for us, and we all drove perfectly as well. Now we have a bit of time to analyse all of the data and hopefully have a more competitive car when we arrive at the Circuit of the Americas for the next round of the championship.' Al Harthy took the start of the race, but after maintaining position initially, he was elbowed down to 17th place. Battling back with strong focus, he was back inside the top 15 with less than 20 minutes of the race elapsed and close behind the sister BMW. Both WRT cars gained two spots each shortly after and Al Harthy then made his first pit-stop from 13th before the end of hour one. Van der Linde took over and when the action settled he was in 12th position, as the team's strategy began to unfold. Climbing through to fifth with one hour and 45 minutes completed, before the end of hour two OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman-supported Al Harthy returned to the driving seat. Holding sixth position initially, and driving well around the 4.3-kilometre counterclockwise Interlagos track, he concluded his second run nicely inside the top eight as the differing strategies of the teams played out. Van der Linde took over later in hour three with the car in 10th place when he emerged, and the South African reeled off a series of great passes. With three hours and 45 minutes in the book van der Linde had moved up into third and at the next stop Rossi climbed into the BMW for his first miles of the race. When the race order settled once more he held sixth place and after the team's fifth pit-stop, with just under 90 minutes to go, Rossi remained behind the wheel and emerged eighth in LMGT3. Climbing into the top six as the strategies again mixed the order, van der Linde returned to the No.46 car with just half an hour remaining and ultimately finished in 10th position. The FIA World Endurance Championship will now head to the United States of America for round six of the season, the Lone Star Le Mans at COTA in Austin, Texas, over the weekend of September 6-7.
Muscat Daily
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Oman's Al Harthy eyes podium finish in Brazil
Muscat – South America is the destination for Ahmad al Harthy later this week when the FIA World Endurance Championship resumes for round five of the season, the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, which will take place on Sunday. Oman's Al Harthy, who has been in tremendous form throughout the 2025 campaign along with Team WRT teammates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde, is very much hoping for a boost to the squad's fortunes in Brazil off the back off a frustrating non-finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Well on course to challenge for the LMGT3 class win, a podium at least, during the championship's biggest race of the year just three weeks ago, a luckless electrical issue enforced retirement of the rapid No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 part way through the twice-round-the-clock French encounter. 'I can't wait to return to Brazil this week for my second attempt at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, we had a great weekend last year and the top five result from 12th on the grid was a satisfying result on my first ever visit to the track,' said Al Harthy 'We're all determined, every single member of the team, to be in a position to challenge for the podium on Sunday and that will be our focus with our preparation. 'Everyone was very disappointed that we had to retire the car at Le Mans, but the strength of the performance we showed before then – the pace, the strategy and our individual performances as well – gave us a lot to take away and be very positive about. We're aiming to put all we learned and that experience into practice and hit back as strongly as we can in Sao Paolo.' Al Harthy, supported by prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman, is hungrier than ever to be back on the FIA WEC podium and will be working as hard as possible to achieve that aim. During last year's visit to Interlagos, the Omani's maiden trip to the Brazilian venue, he and then teammates Rossi and Maxime Martin achieved a strong top five result from 12th on the grid, almost snatching fourth – less than a second shy at the chequered flag after six intense hours of action. As has been a hallmark of Al Harthy's endurance racing career to-date, his opening stint in last year's Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo was immensely impressive. Gaining no fewer than six places during the first hour of action, this set the scene for the pleasing result on his Interlagos debut. His second stint was equally strong with fantastic speed, racecraft and overtaking skills on show for all to witness. This time around, Oman's number one racing driver is hoping for more still as the team strives to begin the second half of the FIA World Endurance Championship season on the front foot, and climb back up the LMGT3 points table. Competition, as always in FIA WEC, will be fierce in Brazilwith 18 cars entered in LMGT3 alone and a combined grid of 36 entries expected including those from the Hypercar class. Going into the event Al Harthy, Rossi and van der Linde are 12th in the LMGT3 driver standings with a season-best finish of second place from round two at Imola in Italy.
Observer
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
AL Harthy planning good start in Brazil race
South America is the destination for Ahmad al Harthy this week when the FIA World Endurance Championship resumes for round five of the season, the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, which will take place this coming Sunday, 13th July. Oman's Al Harthy, who has been in tremendous form throughout the 2025 campaign along with Team WRT team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde, is very much hoping for a boost to the squad's fortunes in Brazil off the back off a frustrating non-finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Well on course to challenge for the LMGT3 class win, a podium at least, during the championship's biggest race of the year just three weeks ago, a luckless electrical issue forced retirement of the rapid No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 part way through the twice-round-the-clock French encounter. Al Harthy, supported by prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MoCSY), and Experience Oman, is hungrier than ever to be back on the FIA WEC podium and will be working as hard as possible to achieve that aim. During last year's visit to Interlagos, the Omani's maiden trip to the Brazilian venue, he and then team-mates Rossi and Maxime Martin achieved a strong top five result from 12th on the grid, almost snatching fourth – less than a second shy at the chequered flag after six intense hours of action. As has been a hallmark of Al Harthy's endurance racing career to-date, his opening stint in last year's Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo was immensely impressive. Gaining no fewer than six places during the first hour of action, this set the scene for the pleasing result on his Interlagos debut. His second stint was equally strong with fantastic speed, racecraft and overtaking skills on show for all to witness. Ahmed al Harthy This time around, Oman's number one racing driver is hoping for more still as the team strives to begin the second half of the FIA World Endurance Championship season on the front foot, and climb back up the LMGT3 points table. Competition, as always in FIA WEC, will be fierce in Brazil with 18 cars entered in LMGT3 alone and a combined grid of 36 entries expected including those from the Hypercar class. Going into the event Al Harthy, Rossi and van der Linde are 12th in the LMGT3 driver standings with a season-best finish of second place from round two at Imola in Italy. 'I can't wait to be back in Brazil this week for my second attempt at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, we had a great weekend last year and the top five result from 12th on the grid was a satisfying result on my first ever visit to the track. We're all determined, every single member of the team, to be in a position to challenge for the podium on Sunday and that will be our focus with our preparation. 'Everyone was obviously very disappointed we had to retire the car at Le Mans, but the strength of the performance we showed before then – the pace, the strategy and our individual performances as well – gave us a lot to take away and be very positive about. We're aiming to put all we learned and that experience into practice and hit back as strongly as we can in Sao Paolo.' Al Harthy said. The first two free practice sessions at Interlagos will take place on Friday, 11th July, with the third session following on Saturday, 12th July, ahead of LMGT3 qualifying at 14.45 Sao Paolo time. The Hyperpole session is immediately after opening qualifying at 15.05 local time. On Sunday, 13th July, the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paolo will get underway at 11.30 local time and the action can be followed through 2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Driver Standings (after Rd4): 1st Riccardo Pera / Ryan Hardwick / Richard Leitz, 81pts 2nd Alessio Rovera / Francois Heriau / Simon Mann, 76pts 3rd Ben Keating / Daniel Juncadella / Jonny Edgar, 60pts 12th Ahmad al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin van der Linde, 21pts 2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Team Standings (after Rd4): 1st Manthey 1ST Phorm (Porsche 911), 81pts 2nd Vista AF Corse (Ferrari 296), 76pts 3rd TF Sport (Corvette Z06), 60pts 12th Team WRT (BMW M4 LMGT3), 21pts • Globe-trotting Omani Ahmad al Harthy heads to Interlagos for Rd5 • Team WRT driver focused on fighting for podium return after Le Mans DNF • World-famous Brazilian F1 venue hosts big 6hr FIA WEC race this Sunday
