| Al Harthy fastest at Knockhill |
KNOCKHILL (Scotland) Ahmad Al Harthy raced to his eighth and ninth Pro-Am 1 wins of the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship at Knockhill in Scotland on Sunday to increase his class lead to 48 points, a press release said on Monday.
The Oman Air Racing Team driver – who will celebrate his 31st birthday later this week – delivered an outstanding performance in Sunday afternoon’s 14th round to win Pro-Am 1 by an incredible 11 seconds after his round 13 win on Saturday taking his season’s podium tally to 13.
“It was amazing”, said Ahmad, reflecting on a sensational weekend.
“The second race was incredible – the amount of concentration needed was very high as there was a lot of fluid on the track and that made things very challenging.”
“We had bad luck at Snetterton when we were taken out of the first race but we overcame that with two wins this weekend – the perfect way to respond,” Ahmad said.
Round 14 was certainly the best outing of the weekend for the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Nawras, National Bank of Oman and Muscat Eye Laser Centre supported racer.
Starting on the Pro-Am 1 pole position Ahmad made a terrific getaway and avoided the spinning car of Michael Meadows, over the crest of the first corner, to maintain the class lead.
Although rival Derek Pierce was close behind during the early stages, following a mid-race Safety Car period Ahmad was able to press home his advantage to build an eventual winning margin of 11 seconds – despite tricky track conditions with fluid dropped on circuit.
In Sunday morning’s 13th round, Ahmad started second in Pro-Am 1 and held position off the line before piling on the pressure to class leader Pierce. On lap 21, Ahmad’s relentless challenge paid off when Pierce spun out into the gravel – paving the way for the Omani ace to take the Pro-Am 1 lead.
Holding a 1.6 second advantage over Oly Mortimer prior to the emergence of the Safety Car on lap 24, the race was subsequently red-flagged just after the re-start following a multi-car collision at the first corner, SEAT Curves.
“We worked on the car after the first race and the changes did what we wanted”, said the Muscat racer.
“We had the pace all weekend though, we were strong throughout and then managed to stay out of trouble in both races. I’m absolutely delighted for everyone at the Oman Air Racing Team and our amazing sponsors, it really has been a great weekend for us at Knockhill.”
Porsche Carrera Cup GB now takes a four week break from action with rounds 15 and 16 of the season taking place at Rockingham in Northamptonshire over the weekend 22nd/23rd September.
After the 14th round, Al Harthy is leading the Pro-Am1 driver standings with 130 points.
Oman Tribune
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