The Oman Racing Team, led by Omani Ahmed Al Harthy, announced that the team will join the famous European Le Mans Championship, which will start its first round next Sunday at the well-known French circuit Paul Ricard, where the team will drive an Aston Martin GTI instead of the previous Aston Martin Vantage GT3, which The team has been leading it in recent years, the last of which was in the Asian Le Mans Championship that took place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last February.
The team led by Ahmed Al-Harthy includes the British Sam DeHaan, who participated in several championships, most recently in the Le Mans Asian Championship in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the new factory driver at Aston Martin, Marco Sorenson, led by the technical team TF, which works with the Oman Racing Team in the preparation and maintenance of Aston Martin car over the past few years.
Tournament run:
This switch from GT3 racing to European GTA racing came following extensive study by the team in order to compete in a faster car and in a championship with its weight and technical value as strong as the European Le Mans, which consists of six rounds throughout the year, and its opening round starts from the Paul Circuit. The French Ricard will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17, followed by the second round at the Imola circuit on May 14 and 15, and the third round will also be held in Italy and at the Monza circuit in Milan on July 2 and 3, following which the teams participating in the championship races will go to the regular summer vacation. In the month of June.
The championship will resume once more in August with a race to be held in Barcelona on the 27th and 28th of the month at the Circuit de Catalunya, before moving to Belgium and the fifth round competitions in Spa-Francorchamps on the 24th and 25th of next September. .
The Oman Racing Team, which has won the GT Challenge World Championship twice, hopes this time to achieve similar and even better achievements than before, especially since the current car has proven that it is slightly faster than the previous car and has better driving dynamics in various settings on the circuit and has new additions. Such as a larger rear spoiler, a change in the front splitters and other positive modifications.
Shift in posts:
Ahmed Al Harthy commented on the team’s presence in this prestigious European championship, saying: “Firstly, I must mention that participation in this championship is a strong qualitative leap for the team, especially with the changes in the car and competition in the championship. “.
“We, as usual, strive to provide all our capabilities to reach the podiums, honor our beloved country, and raise the flag of the Sultanate in various sports arenas.”
Al Harthy added, “We have a strong team and I am delighted to have Sam DeHaan once more with me in the team. He is a good driver and previously won the Pro Am title in the British GT Championship in 2019, while the Danish driver Marco is considered one of the best drivers in the factory, Aston Martin, especially in endurance races. All races in this championship are for 4 hours continuously, so we are ready for the championship, especially following the tests that we conducted at Paul Ricard circuit, whose timing was perfect and promising with strong results in the upcoming races.”