ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit brought a frustrating end to an otherwise sparkling Asian Le Mans Series campaign for Ahmad al Harthy over the weekend, February 10/11, with the Omani and 99 Racing team-mate Louis Deletraz concluding the five-round season third in the LMP2 title battle.
Going into the final event of the campaign leading the standings by 20 points, Al Harthy got things off to a perfect start in the No 99 Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 car by dominating qualifying, 0.8 seconds faster than anyone, securing a memorable double pole position for rounds four and five.
Race one was nothing short of luckless, with surprising lap one contact spinning Al Harthy out of the lead. Mounting a rousing recovery, more dramas then undid the Omani’s stirring drive and heavy damage sustained during an incident behind the Safety Car led to a devastating retirement.
Following incredible work by 99 Racing overnight and throughout Sunday morning, and with thanks to the AF Corse team from whom a new Oreca tub was acquired, Al Harthy lined-up on pole position for round five – he and Deletraz now three points adrift in the title battle.
Even though having to serve a debatable drive-through penalty early on, ordered by officials as a result of the race-ending incident the day prior, Al Harthy performed strongly in the opening stint. In the end, though, the car couldn’t deliver the performance required and Al Harthy, Deletraz and Filipe Albuquerque – standing in for the unwell Nikita Mazepin – finished in 11th position.
“What an unbelievable turn of events this weekend," said a shocked Al Harthy, “After qualifying, where I was so happy with the car and my performance, we really were in a strong position and in the perfect place to try and maximise our potential. What happened in the two races was quite incredible, but we still end the season P3 in the championship and with a couple of wins as well.”
UNFORTUNATE CONCLUSION
Having performed so faultlessly in qualifying on Saturday morning, Al Harthy relished the opening race later in the day and the team had a genuine chance of wrapping-up the ALMS title with one round to spare. Unfortunately, this was where the weekend’s fortunes changed dramatically.
Starting the four-hour encounter well, the Omani led away nicely but into Turn 12 he was tagged by the car of Salih Yoluc and pitched off track. Plummeting down the order as the entire field swept by, the 99 Racing entry rejoined stone last. Producing a superb recovery drive, Al Harthy stormed back through sensationally and was sixth in LMP2 within just 20 minutes of action.
The momentum was impacted by an unlucky penalty, but Al Harthy was undaunted and reeled off stunning laps to climb into fourth before his first scheduled stop. Rejoining 13th in LMP2, he climbed back up to fifth with 90 minutes elapsed. Then everything went awry under a Safety Car period.
As the train headed into Turn One, a GT car braked unnecessarily heavily which caused a concertina effect and led to the No 91 Porsche spinning in avoidance, with Al Harthy unable to avoid. Causing immense damage, retirement was instantaneous.
It was soon determined the car was beyond repair at the track but, after acquiring a replacement tub from AF Corse, the 99 Racing crew worked flat-out throughout the night and during Sunday morning to get a car ready for the erstwhile leaders. Adding salt to the wound, though, pole-starter Al Harthy was ordered he would have to serve a stop-go penalty early in the race.
Again leading away from pole as he had the day before, the Omani put together an excellent first lap in an unfamiliar and untested car before the Safety Car was deployed due to multiple collisions. The action resumed on lap five and Al Harthy then pitted to serve the stop-go. Rejoining in 27th overall, he carved his way through into the top 10 inside 45 minutes of racing before racing was red-flagged.
Following a delay of one hour, the cars were led away line astern by the Safety Car and Al Harthy had to pit for an emergency fuel stop.
Albuquerque took over with under two hours to go and soon rain began to fall over Yas Marina, now under almost fully dark night skies. He climbed to seventh in LMP2 before heading for the pits on lap 52 where Deletraz took over. Working his way into 11th after the stop, Deletraz then pitted with 20 minutes to run to hand the car back to Albuquerque for the run to the flag – ending in 11th spot.
“The guys at the team worked so, so hard this weekend and the effort everyone put in overnight on Saturday to make sure we could even get onto the grid for Sunday’s race was amazing," reflected Al Harthy, “Huge thank you to everyone and, of course, to Louis, Filipe and Nikita who have been great to work with. Abu Dhabi wasn’t the weekend we wanted, to say the least, but we can still be proud of all we’ve achieved in the ALMS.”
2023/2024 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Driver Standings:
3. Ahmad al Harthy/Louis Deletraz, 70 pts
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