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Times of Oman
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Sensational Fourth Overall and Gold Cup Victory for Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Zubair, Klingmann and Tuck at Monza
MONZA (ITALY): Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT's Al-Faisal Al-Zubair, Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck delivered another driving and strategic masterclass to finish fourth overall and first in the Gold Cup class at the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS at Monza late on Sunday afternoon. Despite qualifying in seventh, the trio carried out their pit stop strategy perfectly and were able to move through the field during a yellow flag-interrupted three-hour race to finish fourth overall ahead of nine other rivals in the Gold Cup category in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It was another proud day for Al-Zubair and the Sultanate of Oman in endurance racing. The Racing Aston Martin was a distant second overall and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi rounded off the Gold Cup podium. A delighted Al-Zubair said: 'I'm happy to clinch the win in the Gold Cup Category. 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. 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.' From a start position of seventh in the Gold Cup category, Al-Zubair held eighth until a full course yellow brought proceedings to a stop after around 20 minutes. The Garage 59 McLaren had the lead from the CSA Racing McLaren. Action resumed around the half-hour mark and Al-Zubair made up a place to take seventh shortly afterwards. The Omani maintained his composure and was soon up to sixth with the Garage 59 McLaren continuing to lead from the Racing Aston Martin. Herberth Motorsport's Porsche was sidelined after 13 laps. Al-Zubair retained sixth to another full course yellow with around 1hr 50min of the race remaining. The handover to Tuck was a good one and, when action resumed, Tuck held the lead from the Garage 59 McLaren and the Verstappen Aston. The leading six Gold Cup cars were tightly bunched but Tuck retained the lead through 48 laps with 68 minutes of the race remaining. The CSA Racing McLaren had fallen by the wayside after 36 laps. With less than an hour to run there was yet another full course yellow with Tuck still leading. Racing resumed under a green flag with 54 minutes to go and the final changeover to Klingmann was a successful one with the team retaining an advantage over the Aston Martin and the Optimum Motorsport McLaren. A seventh interruption to the race happened with 31 minutes to run and Klingmann holding the lead and a superb fourth overall. But it was a brief stoppage and the German retained his position, only for a yellow to halt the race for the eighth time with just three minutes left of the 84-lap race. Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT carried out a short unofficial test session on Friday with Al-Zubair posting a best lap of 1min 46.840sec. Free practice took place on Saturday morning for the 10-car field and the fastest lap of the session went to the Nordique Racing Mercedes in the hands of Japan's Kotaka Kazuko. Tuck's best run for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT operation was 1min 46.345sec and that put the BMW M4 in the middle of the group in fifth. Pre-qualifying saw the Al-Manar Racing BMW down in a subdued eighth with a best lap of 1min 46.694sec in a session won by the Racing Aston Martin. Klingmann carded a best run of 1min 46.101sec in the first of the two qualifying sessions to put the BMW in sixth of the Gold Cup runners. Tuck ran a 1min 45.826sec lap in Q2 and Al-Zubair finished his Q3 stint with a best lap of 1min 46.848sec. With the times collated from the three qualifying stints, the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW lined up on the grid in seventh with pole position falling to the Garage 59 McLaren from the CSA Racing McLaren and the Racing Aston Martin.
Times of Oman
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Monza beckons: Al Faisal Al Zubair gears up with Al Manar Racing by Team WRT
MUSCAT: The trio of Al Manar Racing by Team WRT - Al Faisal Al Zubair, Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck - are all geared up to take on the challenge in Italy for this weekend's second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS at the legendary Monza circuit. The trio, Al Zubair from Oman, Klingmann from Germany and Tuck from Britain, finished on the podium at the opening round at France's Paul Ricard in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO and are hoping for another top-class performance in this weekend's three-hour race that features a third mandatory pit stop. Klingmann was the overall winner of the race last year and he and Al Zubair have already arrived in Italy fresh from their double podium success in the recent Sprint races at Zandvoort in the Netherlands recently. The Monza race weekend has attracted a massive 59-car field across the various classes with the Al Manar Racing by Team WRT trio lining up against nine rivals in the Gold Cup category. The opening round was won by the CSA Racing McLaren crew of Arthur Rougier, James Kell and Simon Gachet and they will be aiming to defend their series lead against the likes of the second-placed Racing Aston Martin, the Garage 59, Optimum Motorsport and Team RJN McLarens, the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, the Paul Motorsport Lamborghini, Nordique Racing's Mercedes-AMG and Herberth Motorsport's Porsche. Ahead of the race, talented Omani racer Al Zubair said: 'This will be the second round of the Endurance Championship, which I am really looking forward to. I really enjoy Monza. Unfortunately, we didn't finish the race last year because of a collision. We are hoping to have a much better result this time. 'Luckily, I think the BMW is more suited to Monza than the Mercedes. That should be of benefit to us. We are currently second in the championship, overall Sprint and Endurance. So, hopefully, we can have a strong weekend, score solid points and keep up the fight for the championship.' The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup powered by AWS shares the circuit this weekend with the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and McLaren Trophy Europe. Test sessions will be available on Friday but the first official two-hour practice session is scheduled for Saturday (May 31) from 10.10hrs. Pre-qualifying will then take place from 15.30hrs. An hour of crucial qualifying will get underway on Sunday (June 1) morning from 09.50hrs and the three-hour race fires into life at 15.00hrs.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Chris Lulham on learning from Max Verstappen's secret Nurburgring test
Last week, someone named "Franz Hermann" drew significant attention during a GT3 test at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Behind this alias was none other than four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen, who got behind the wheel of the Ferrari 296 GT3 from Swiss outfit Emil Frey Racing during an official Nurburgring Endurance Series test. The Red Bull F1 driver collaborates with Emil Frey Racing under the Racing banner and wanted to get some laps in on the "Green Hell" without attracting crowds of fans to the pit lane in the early morning. Advertisement He succeeded in keeping things quiet, but that also meant many quickly forgot that Verstappen wasn't the only one in the car that day. Chris Lulham, sim racer for Team Redline – Verstappen's sim racing team – was also present. He appeared in some photos, though remained anonymous throughout the ordeal. 'We shared the car all day,' Lulham said in an interview with at the GT World Challenge event in Zandvoort. 'I mainly drove in the afternoon – I think I did most of the laps then. It was an incredible experience driving that track for the first time. Nothing can really prepare you for it. 'I've done thousands of laps on the simulator and even won the 24-hour sim race there several times, but nothing compares to the real thing.' Advertisement Lulham has been competing with Team Redline for several years now, and not without success. The Brit has made a name for himself by winning major sim racing events, which this year earned him a seat in GT3 racing with Racing. Though he has some prior experience in karting and motorsport, sim racing was his path to the real racing world. 'It was a strange experience,' Lulham said about his Nurburgring test. 'In the afternoon, more people started showing up. I don't think many of them even realized I was in the car too…' Chris Lulham will make his debut in GT3 racing this year for Racing. Chris Lulham will make his debut in GT3 racing this year for Racing. SRO SRO Advertisement When it's pointed out that he was indeed visible in some of the photos, but the focus was mainly on "Franz," Lulham laughs. 'That's a shame, isn't it?' he said. 'But he was super helpful throughout the day. We had the live onboard feed in the truck, and he pointed out the little lines he had discovered. 'There are over a hundred corners on that track, so plenty of nuances to find. We helped each other with what we learned. It was a very productive day and the car was really fast.' While Verstappen's participation attracted most of the attention, the underlying purpose of the test was also a topic of discussion. According to Lulham, both drivers had a similar objective: to log miles on the Nordschleife and support the team. Advertisement 'It was the first time on the Nordschleife for both of us. And also about building a baseline for the team, as it was the first time the 296 had been run on that track,' Lulham explained. 'We both need to get a permit if we want to race there. That's still an open question.' Lulham confirmed that he does aspire to race in the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. To do that, drivers must go through a permit process. Those aiming to compete in powerful cars like GT3s or Porsche Cups must obtain permit A, which requires drivers to first attend a kind of 'school' covering the rules. Next, they must accumulate track time and participate in at least two races of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) in slower race cars. Lulham knows he needs to follow that path to make his dream a reality, which means doing those races in slower machinery. There's no guarantee he'll earn the permit this year, though. Advertisement 'There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up to make that happen,' he said. 'I need to get that permit in the coming months if I want to race. For Max, it's a different story. He obviously has very limited time. Honestly, I don't know what his plans are. Hopefully, we can both race in the NLS by the end of the year.' Crucial Support Lulham spent several years karting and was even runner-up in the OKJ Karting Championship in 2017. Since then, he's raced in Formula 4 and the Radical Cup Championship, but thanks to support from Racing, he's now competing at the highest level of GT3 racing – the GT World Challenge Europe – in both sprint and endurance races. Advertisement Support from Racing and Verstappen himself has 'been crucial' to this rise through he ranks, he said. 'We had a long winter program that started late last year to prepare me for this season, and I think the results show that,' Lulham said. 'To get into the Ferrari for the first race and immediately qualify on the front row, just two hundredths off pole… That shows what's possible with the right preparation and the right people behind you.' #69 Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham #69 Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham SRO SRO Lulham was surprised that he was immediately quick and able to run at the front. During the winter program, he could already track his progress, supported by reference points from team-mate Thierry Vermeulen – son of Max's manager Raymond Vermeulen – and Verstappen himself. Advertisement 'I could see my own improvements, so I already knew what I was capable of going into the first races,' Lulham said. 'But being aware of it is one thing – executing under pressure in a race weekend, with limited laps, is another. You're thrown straight into qualifying, and that might be your first run on a new set of tires. You have to maximize what you've got in that moment. Did I expect it? I expected I was capable, but to actually pull it off immediately? Probably not.' The adventure with Racing is still in its early stages, but Lulham is very satisfied with the support so far. 'The Racing family is a big one, with many influential people backing me and my career,' Lulham said. Advertisement 'You always feel the support, but you also feel the pressure – so it's a double-edged sword. But it's been a fantastic start.' Very Similar Lulham was surprised by some aspects of transitioning from sim racing to real-world motorsport. Not so much the driving itself, but more the level of aggression on track compared to sim races. 'I expected it to be aggressive, but this level… Of course, you're racing at the top of international GT competition, so everyone is here to win, fighting for every position.' He also had to adapt to the many variables in real-world racing. 'In the simulator, you don't deal with so many variables affecting every moment of the race,' he added. Advertisement 'That's probably the biggest thing I had to adjust to. Then there's the physical side, whereas I was very mentally trained for the sim. I'd say the mental aspects are very similar, as are the techniques used. That's probably why I could jump in with so much confidence.' #69 Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham #69 Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham SRO SRO One thing sim racing can't really teach, according to Lulham, is wheel-to-wheel racing. 'You understand the technique behind it, but actually doing it – putting your body and the car on the line – that's a whole different story,' Lulham added. Sim racers are often accused of making reckless moves they wouldn't dare attempt in real life, knowing the real-world consequences. Still, Lulham thinks GT3 racing has surprised him in this area. Advertisement 'To be honest, I'd say that the professional level of sim racing is cleaner than the professional level in the real world,' he said. 'You'd expect the opposite, with all the money involved, but that's not the case.' It's become a trend for sim racers to make the leap to real motorsport – and often, they perform well. But does real-world experience feed back into his sim racing? 'It helps in the sense that you work with skilled engineers during real race weekends – people who've been in the sport for years,' Lulham said. 'You learn lots of small details you might miss as a sim racer, and you start thinking differently. In terms of lap time, it probably doesn't help, because the techniques you use in a real car differ. But I'm confident I'll still be competitive in sim races this year.' Very Helpful In the GT World Challenge, Lulham is teamed up with Vermeulen, who has built solid GT3 experience in DTM and GTWC in recent years. They haven't done many races together yet, but Lulham is happy with the partnership so far. Advertisement 'He's very helpful,' he said. 'With his years of experience in a GT3 car, he can point out things I wouldn't have even thought about. In pre-season, there are so many little things – how the Pirelli tires work, how to warm them up, which curbs to use or avoid, which lines to take. 'At first, I wasn't even aware of some of these, but someone like Thierry sees them and helps me. He's really guided me well over the past few months toward becoming a professional driver.' Chris Lulham enjoys working with Thierry Vermeulen. Chris Lulham enjoys working with Thierry Vermeulen. SRO SRO In a GT class where the car is shared, it's also a big advantage if both drivers are evenly matched and, so far, this is going well for Lulham. Advertisement 'During pre-season, we were always very close. Sometimes I was faster, sometimes he was. But the gaps were always small,' the Briton said. 'That's been the case in every race, like the endurance race at Paul Ricard and the sprint at Brands Hatch. You can't really prepare for experiences like your first races and race starts. So it's great to have someone like Thierry by your side.' Together with Vermeulen, Lulham wants to make a big impression in the Gold Cup class of the GT World Challenge. The rookie even believes a top-three finish overall is possible. The pair is currently in 10th, but at Brands Hatch – where they won the Gold Cup – an outright victory didn't seem far off. Read Also: Who is Franz Hermann? Max Verstappen shares details of Nurburgring GT3 test Red Bull: Max Verstappen's focus has to be on F1 after Nurburgring test Advertisement 'I'd love to win the Gold Cup in both Sprint and Endurance,' Lulham said of his ambitions. 'That's the main goal. In Sprint, I don't see why we couldn't finish in the top five, top four, or hopefully even top three. Every race has its own challenges, and we'll have highs and lows – we already have. Long-term, we're still early in my first season, so I don't know where this journey will go yet. I can't say anything for certain, but I'd love to make a career out of this.' To read more articles visit our website.
Times of Oman
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Al Manar Racing's Al Zubair and Klingmann claim 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 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 Saintéloc 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. Saintéloc 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.
Times of Oman
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
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 10.20hrs on Friday (May 16th) and precedes an hour of pre-qualifying from 15.10hrs. The first qualifying session fires into life at 10.0hrs on Saturday (May 17th) 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.
