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Times of Oman
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Team WRT's Al Harthy, van der Linde and Rossi To Start 24hrs Of Le Mans Third On LMGT3 Grid
Oman's Ahmad Al Harthy and team-mates Kelvin van der Linde and Valentino Rossi combined to deliver a superb performance throughout qualifying for the weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans, the trio's No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 set to line-up third on the grid for the biggest race of the year. Al Harthy got things off to an outstanding start in the main qualifying session on Wednesday, 11th June, where he emerged quickest of all in the LMGT3 class to comfortably progress the Team WRT entry into the first of two Hyperpole shoot-out sessions on Thursday, 12th June. South African driver van der Linde picked up the baton perfectly and continued in the same vein as Al Harthy, lapping fastest in Hyperpole 1 to ensure the BMW would start a minimum of eighth on the grid for the twice-round-the-clock race – round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Rossi got behind the wheel for the decisive Hyperpole 2, straight after the first of the shoot-outs, and the Italian's initial true flying lap was ultimately his best of the session as he concluded the run third in LMGT3. With red flag stoppages impacting qualifying and the first Hyperpole, drivers needed to maintain steely focus and determination to conquer the immense 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe and OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman supported racer Al Harthy – and the entire team – certainly did that. Brilliant showing from Team WRT trio confirms Le Mans potential Opening qualifying on Wednesday produced a sparkling performance from Al Harthy, who was in outstanding form. Initially topping the times on his first proper lap, the Omani was second with just under 10 minutes of the half hour session elapsed and he held fifth midway through when red flags were flown. Determined to piece together a great lap after the resumption and challenge for the fastest time, he steered the No.46 BMW M4 to a lap of 3m56.875 seconds which placed him on top by four tenths of a second to smoothly progress to Hyperpole as the fastest of the lead 12 contenders. In Hyperpole 1 van der Linde posted a time of 3m55.855 seconds just moments before red flags were shown. After the resumption he improved to 3m54.530 seconds, topping LMGT3, and on his final lap he shaved another two tenths off to conclude the session quickest with 3m54.345 seconds. Rossi climbed into the driving seat for the 15-minute Hyperpole 2 and his first competitive lap was a time of 3m54.966 seconds, placing him third. Ultimately this was the Italian's best of the session as he secured a terrific third on the grid for, arguably, the biggest event in four-wheeled motorsport. Ahmad Al Harthy: 'I was extremely delighted to have put our car on pole in the first qualifying, to do it here in Le Mans was extra, extra special. To be able to maximise everything we could from the car was a huge motivation for everybody in the team. Then into Hyperpole, and Kelvin did an outstanding job in session one, it was a strategic decision to put him in that session and to be pole again was amazing. 'For Vale to get the car in the top three in Hyperpole 2, for sure, is far beyond what we expected – he got a really, really mega lap. This is just the first part of everything but, obviously, it's always good to have a good starting position for a 24 Hour race. I'm really proud of everyone in the team, it was a fantastic team effort right across qualifying. Now we focus on the race!' There is a day away from track action now at the Circuit de la Sarthe ahead of the start of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday, 14th June. Warm-up will take place at 12.00 local time before the race itself starts at 16.00. 2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Driver Standings (after Rd3): 1st Ben Keating / Daniel Juncadella / Jonny Edgar, 44pts 2nd Alessio Rovera / Francois Heriau / Simon Mann, 40pts 3rd Arnold Robin / Finn Gehrsitz, 38pts 9th Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin van der Linde, 21pts 2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Team Standings (after Rd3): 1st TF Sport (Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R), 44pts 2nd Vista AF Corse (Ferrari 296 GT3), 40pts 3rd Akkodis ASP Team (Lexus RC F LMGT3), 38pts 9th Team WRT (BMW M4 LMGT3), 21pts
Times of Oman
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Biggest event in global endurance racing awaits Oman's Al Harthy: The 24hrs of Le Mans
Global motorsport's greatest and most challenging race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe in France, is mere days away for Oman's Ahmad Al Harthy who intends to mount a major bid for silverware with team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde. Marking the halfway stage of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, round four of the 2025 campaign, this year's visit to Le Mans – the race begins on Saturday, 14th June – will be Al Harthy's third attempt at the endurance racing classic where he is a past podium finisher. Memorably, of course, he made history on his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut back in 2023 when racing to a sensational second place result in the then GTE Am class – success which he happily dedicated to his Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. Now competing in LMGT3, the successor to GTE, the Omani's second season with Team WRT in the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 has been impacted by some misfortune but there has been celebration as well thanks to a fantastic second place – a mere 0.3 seconds shy of victory – at Imola in Italy in April. Climbing to sixth in the LMGT3 standings at that point, having had to settle for 11th place during the season-opening event at Lusail in Qatar, a podium bid last time out at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium ultimately became ninth due to a pit-lane speed limiter glitch which resulted in a luckless penalty. While there have been frustrations with some of the misfortune, the overall pace and performance across qualifying and race conditions from the Team WRT entry has been outstanding and Al Harthy himself has been extremely satisfied with the level of his own personal performance thus far. Supported as always by OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman, Al Harthy is very much looking forward to welcoming plenty of key partners to the 93rd staging of the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this week. This year's race entry features a combined total of 62 cars across the Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 classes, with 24 in LMGT3 alone – the biggest class of the three. The No.46 BMW LMGT3 will be battling competition from the likes of Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. Ahmad Al Harthy said, 'Le Mans is always the biggest event of the year, not just in WEC but in motorsport as a whole, and it truly is an incredible honour to again represent Oman at such a prestigious, famous and historic race. It was the proudest moment of my career to climb the podium in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a couple of years ago on my debut in the race, truly an amazing moment to see the Omani flag fly. 'We're working as hard as we can to be back on the podium this weekend, and with Vale and Kelvin we're pushing as hard as ever to prepare as strongly as possible for the race. It's going to be an amazing week building-up to the race, I can't wait to get started.' Free practice begins at Le Mans this Wednesday, 11th June, with qualifying then getting underway at 18.45 local time – the fastest 12 cars progressing to Hyperpole at 20.00 on Thursday, 12th June. In between these sessions there will have been two further practice runs. Hyperpole for this year sees the top eight progress to a second Hyperpole session to determine the first four rows of the grid. More night-time practice follows before a day away from track action on Friday, 13th June. Warm-up for the big race takes place at midday local time on Saturday, 14th June, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 16.00 local time. Follow everything at or com
