Oman Racing Team denied 2nd Blancpain podium in Paul Ricard
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
There was frustration for the Motorbase Performance squad during round three of the Blancpain Endurance Cup when suspension failure cost the Oman Racing Team's Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 a podium finish in the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km (24/25 June).
The #44 Aston Martin, driven by Ahmad Al Harthy, Jonny Adam and Devon Modell faced a fantastic entry of 57 GT cars for the six-hour night race on the spectacular French circuit. David Bartrum’s squad arrived in the South of France determined to continue its impressive form shown during the opening two rounds of the championship and set on challenging for a second consecutive podium finish. Unfortunately, time lost in the pits due to a failed suspension component meant that the Kent-based outfit ended the race thirteenth in the Pro-Am Cup class, 33rd overall.
The third race meeting of the Blancpain campaign didn’t get off to the best start for the Oman Racing Team with engine issues ruling the #44 Vantage out of most of Friday’s bronze test session. A battling performance during Saturday’s qualifying session saw Jonny Adam net the squad’s best lap, securing a P24 start for the 6-hour evening race.
Al Harthy and Modell completed two strong stints each in the Vantage during the opening four hours of the contest, running as high as 12th overall and 2nd in the Pro-Am class before handing over to Adam for his scheduled double-stint for the final leg of the night race. After a faultless pit-stop and handover by the Motorbase squad, Adam re-joined the race and settled in to continue his challenge on the Pro-Am leaders when disaster struck. With just over two hours remaining on the clock, Adam was forced to nurse the Aston Martin back into the pits with a broken front-left wishbone.
Despite a superb turnaround by the crew and best efforts from the entire team, the time lost proved too costly and the team’s hopes of claiming a podium spot faded with Adam eventually crossing the line in 13th in the Pro-Am class, 33rd overall.
The weekend’s results leave the Oman Racing Team in 5th place in the Pro-Am Team standings with Al Harthy, Adam and Modell currently 4th in the Drivers’ Championship as the Blancpain Endurance Cup prepares for next month’s blue-riband event - the Total 24 hours of Spa. The most famous and renowned GT3 race in the world takes place on the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on 28-31 July. Before then, the Oman Racing Team heads to Spa next Tuesday, 5 July for the official test day ahead of the 24-hour race.
Source material - Motorbase
Photo credits - PM Images
