(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Omani racer Ahmad al Harthy, along with teammates Michael Caine and Stephen Jelley of Oman Racing Team (ORT), will begin the first race of the Blancpain Endurance Series season in Monza, Italy from the 19th place on Sunday after a trouble-free run in the qualifying race on Saturday.
Gregoire Demoustier, Alex Premat and Alvaro Parente of ART Grand Prix took pole position after finishing the fastest lap in 1m47.603s.
The Oman Racing Team trio, driving their new Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, completed their fastest lap in 1m49.018s to begin from the middle of the 38-team strong three-hour race.
The trio finished 12th in the Pro Cup class among 13 teams. Earlier, on Friday, the ORT had claimed in fourth place in the Bronze Test after finishing the lap in 1m50.074s. British driver Jelley took the last of the all-important final qualifying runs and ended up with the team's best time. The session was red-flagged, however, with a couple of minutes remaining on the clock following an excursion for a rival car at the Ascari Chicane.
''It has been good so far and we are happy to have been the quickest Aston Martin on track during qualifying, that is the first benchmark really,'' said Ahmad. ''We have been getting quicker and quicker with every session, but it is all about the strategy for the race. This is a big race for me and the whole team - our first in Blancpain as a full Oman team.
''Monza is a very challenging circuit and we know qualifying pace is a completely different thing to race pace. So we are happy where we are with everything and looking forward to the race. We don't want any dramas, a lot can happen in a three-hour race. The aim is to stay out of trouble and have a smooth start to the season.''
Jelley will take the opening stint for round one of the season with Ahmad to contest the middle hour before handing the wheel over to Caine, who will pilot the team to the finish
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