Wrotham based Oman Racing were denied a podium finish in the 24 hours of Spa last weekend, due to retirement with just hours left.

The 67th running of the famous round-the-clock race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium is an incredibly tough race and attracted a stellar entry of GT cars for round four of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

The Oman Racing Team faced a formidable entry of 59 of the world’s leading endurance drivers and teams. Ahmad Al Harthy was sharing the driving with Jonny Adam, Daniel Lloyd and young Australian racer Jonathan Venter.

The race build-up and qualifying went very well and the Oman car showed its speed with strong laps in qualifying as they slotted into a top 10 position in the Pro-Am category.

Typical ever-changing weather conditions in the Ardennes Mountains made tyre choice difficult at the start of the race, but the Motorbase team made some good calls. However, another sudden change of weather threw the race into turmoil and the team had to bring the car back into the pits once more to change tyres. Then, a safety car period added further uncertainty and the Oman car dropped to 39th place.

Undeterred, the entire team battled hard through the night and managed to get the car right up to tenth overall and fourth in Pro-Am, with a real prospect of moving into a podium place.

Unfortunately, just as it seemed that a place on the Pro-Am podium was within their grasp, the car hit trouble as a section of the floor worked loose. That cost time in the pits but then an engine drive belt problem finally forced the Aston Martin out of the race after 444 laps and with just three hours left to run on Sunday afternoon. Although the belt could have been replaced, the engine was not fit to continue.

However, the Oman car had covered sufficient distance to be classified as a finisher in 30th place overall and tenth in Pro-Am.

Daniel Lloyd was driving when the car stopped on track and he worked hard to try and fix the problem using the tools carried in the car. The regulations permit the driver to work on the car, but team personnel cannot touch the car outside the pit area.

Team boss David Bartrum was impressed with Lloyd’s effort to get the car back into the race, he said: “Seeing Daniel working at the side of the track trying to fix the car set an example to all GT drivers. He never gave up trying to get the car to the finish.

“I’m a very proud team boss to have seen the determination of the whole team, which worked so well for 22 hours. To not get a result after that was very disappointing. It was team and drivers at their best. This is a fantastic event and we’ve still got unfinished business with the Spa 24-hours.”

Giving his thoughts after the weekend, Adam was slightly disappointed, he said: “The end result could have been so good. We called the right strategy at the start of the race but then the safety car caught us out and we lost half a lap at the end of the pit lane. It was a great effort from everyone to bounce back into the top 10 and P4 in class with the potential for the podium. It’s a case of what could have been. Spa is a brutal race on the cars, drivers and teams. The car ran really well and a finish would have been a great result for the team.”

The Oman Racing Team will be back in action on home ground this weekend (1/2 August) in round six of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, a two-hour race on the fabulous Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch.

Images courtesy of Peter May/PM Images