Racing champion home to warm welcome

MUSCAT, June 13

The Oman's national racing champion, Ahmad al Harthy, and the Oman Racing with TF Sport team were accorded a warm welcome after arriving back from achieving the ‘proudest day of career’ at 24H Le Mans with remarkable P2 finish in GTE Am class.

The Oman team rewrote the endurance racing history books once again in remarkable style over the weekend, 10th/11th June, with a truly exceptional performance to finish second in the GTE Am class on their 24H Le Mans debut.

Hailing the proudest day of his glorious motor racing career so far, an ecstatic Al Harthy scaled the Le Mans podium on Sunday afternoon with team-mates Michael Dinan and Charlie Eastwood to put the icing on the cake of an outstanding performance in the 100th anniversary 24H Le Mans.

Dedicating the dream runner-up finish to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik al Said, and expressing immense gratitude to his partners, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, OQ, Omantel and MHD-ITICS, Al Harthy also saluted the whole Oman Racing with TF Sport squad for exceptional work.

“This is the first time I think I’ve ever been truly speechless – wow! What a dream come true this is, to finish on the podium in P2 at the world’s largest and greatest event ever in endurance racing, and at our first attempt as well, is something I can’t describe. This is the big one, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and we got it – we got onto the podium,” a jubilant Ahmad al Harthy said.

In addition to the prestige of finishing second on his debut in the world-famous endurance racing classic, in the Centenary event no less, the performance elevates Al Harthy and his team-mates from eighth to second in the FIA World Endurance Championship standings – the race also forming round four of the WEC season.

“The race had everything you could think of, from the beginning to the end, it was one of the most challenging races and for it to be at the 100 year centenary race, it’s amazing. I am so proud of everyone, Michael, Charlie and everybody at the team for an amazing job all week here in Le Mans.

“I dedicate this win to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik al Said, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, for their unwavering support over the years. We dreamt of this day, we managed to make it happen and we saw the flag of Oman flying at Le Mans! It’s a very proud moment for me, the proudest day of my racing career, so I say a huge thank you to all of our supporters and everybody back home in Oman, this is for everyone.”

During the event, Ashraf bin Hamad al Maamari, CEO of People, Technology and Culture at OQ, stated, "OQ's sponsorship of the OQ Champion Ahmad al Harthy epitomises His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik's profound interest in sports, as mentioned during his meeting with Shaikhs and dignitaries of the Al Sharqiyah South Governorate on January 9, 2022. His Majesty the Sultan emphasised that sports have become an industry and an integral part of the country's development process. Additionally, it reflects our belief in the importance of nurturing Omani champions across various sports on a global stage”.