Round three of the Blancpain Endurance Series will take the Oman Racing Team to the South of France for the final three-hour race of the season, this time at the spectacular Paul Ricard circuit (27/28 June).
The team’s #44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, driven by Ahmad Al Harthy, Michael Caine and Stephen Jelley faces formidable opposition against a fantastic entry of 42 GT cars and there is every reason for the team to target a top 10 finish, or perhaps even higher in a field packed full of quality teams and drivers.
The stunning entry includes cars from Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, Nissan, McLaren, Mercedes and BMW as well as Aston Martin. However, based on its pace at Monza and Silverstone in the opening two Blancpain Endurance Series races this season, the Motorbase Performance-run squad has good reason to be in confident mood heading to France.
David Bartrum’s Kent-based team has worked flat out since Sunday’s British GT races at Snetterton to get the #44 Oman Racing Team Aston Martin V12 Vantage back in perfect racing condition ready for the long trek south.
The team tested at the high-speed French track before the start of the season and if qualifying goes well, hopes will be high for a strong race performance. Although the race is scheduled to finish before darkness falls completely, the team and drivers could well face the added challenge of racing in dwindling light.
Following free practice on Friday, qualifying will start at 11.20am on Saturday with the race running from7.15pm to 10.15pm (CET) on Saturday with live coverage shown on the official championship website:http://www.blancpain-gt-
Oman Racing Team Principal David Bartrum said:
“We spent a couple of days testing at Paul Ricard before the season started and it’s a stunning circuit, but this weekend will be a tough race. When you look at the quality of the field in Blancpain, there are some really top level drivers out there and we’ve gone straight into the Pro class to try and take them on. We’ll all be pushing hard.”
Oman Racing Team driver Ahmad Al Harthy said:
“We’re aiming for our best result of the Blancpain season; we scored points in our last race at Silverstone and want to do better at Paul Ricard. Everything was a step forward at Silverstone. Now, after the Snetterton races in British GT we’re heading straight to France for the Blancpain Endurance Series; it’s a very busy period for the Oman Racing Team.
“Blancpain was always a development programme for us this year, and still is, but good results in British GT help to get us more and more used to the Aston Martin and more competent in the car in both championships.”
Oman Racing Team driver Michael Caine said:
“The race runs to 10.15pm and I think it will be a great event to be involved in. The Blancpain field has the best of the best GT drivers and I think we’ve proved that we can run with them.
“The Motorbase boys have done a great job to get the car ready to go straight after Snetterton last weekend and I hope we get the result to reward their hard work. We just need a little bit of luck on our side and a good top eight finish is definitely on the cards. We’d love to win, and a podium would be fantastic.”