Monday 13 / January / 2025
Multiple motor racing champion Ahmad Al Harthy produced an absolutely sensational start to 2025 at Dubai Autodrome over the weekend, 11th/12th January, with a faultless victory in the GT3-Am class at the Michelin 24H DUBAI with British team Paradine Competition.
Invited to join the squad’s line-up for the 20th Anniversary staging of the race, the traditional start to the global endurance racing year, the Omani partnered team-mates Toby Sowery, Simon Traves and Darren Leung in the No.991 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Starting the race from the class pole, eighth on the overall grid of 63 cars, the team delivered a remarkable performance throughout the 24 hours and ultimately went on to take the chequered flag at 13.00 local time on Sunday an excellent fifth overall and over a lap clear in GT3-Am.
Al Harthy starred in qualifying on Friday, 10th January, with a fantastic performance in the opening 15-minute session. Steering the BMW to the fastest time of all on his first flying lap, with just six minutes to go he sat atop the timing screens with a lap of 1m58.845 seconds.
Ultimately ending the run third overall and second in GT3-Am, Al Harthy’s efforts ensured Paradine Competition went on to claim the class pole position in style. Leung and Sowery took the second and third sessions, but the Omani remained the fastest of the trio.
Sowery took the start of the race for Paradine and delivered an electrifying first half lap, scything through the upper order to climb into third position overall, obviously retaining the Am class lead in the process. Taking second place on lap six, Sowery then seized the outright lead of the race on lap 18 from Gabriele Piana’s Pro-Am Mercedes-AMG.
Although slipping back to second on lap 28, behind the No.777 BMW M4, he remained in touch and at the first round of pit-stops handed the car over to Al Harthy. Running in sixth position originally, the Omani’s first stint was impacted by two cautionary periods but at the second of the two he was able to move ahead of the No.777 car – in which was Leung who doubled-up by racing in both cars.
The third Code 60 caution of the race occurred later in hour three, where Al Harthy pitted to hand over the Paradine car to Traves. Although slipping behind a few GT3 rivals, Traves continued to lead Am and after moving back into second overall by hour five, as pit stops played out, Leung then took his first laps in the Paradine entry.
While track position ebbed and flowed during the evening, through the varying strategies and driver changes, the No.991 remained squarely in the front-running battle overall and at around one third distance Al Harthy returned to the driving seat with a realistic prospect of an outright podium.
Emerging on track during a Code 60 period, when a GT4 car caught fire, the Omani held the outright race lead. Driving superbly as always, the team outperforming any expectation, Al Harthy continued at the front until entering the pits for fuel and tyres around 22.00 local time.
Past midnight into Sunday, Al Harthy continued to lead GT3-Am and was inside the outright top four as he circulated flawlessly. Through the remainder of the race, into daylight and towards the afternoon finish, the quartet all performed impeccably with the BMW running very reliably.
Right up to the final hour of the race an overall top four result remained a possibility, but a nonetheless excellent outright fifth place and a clear GT3-Am victory was Paradine’s just reward for a tremendous and well executed race.
Ahmad Al Harthy:
“I’m absolutely delighted with this first race of the season; it was a great experience for me to win GT3-Am in such a competitive field and to be fighting overall for the majority of the race. Finishing fifth overall in itself is great, but to win our class was very important for me with this opportunity in the 24H DUBAI. It’s always fantastic to have the chance to race so close to home.
“I’m also delighted for Al Faisal [Al Zubair] and his team [AlManar Racing by Team WRT] to win the race outright as well, we were in one pit box the entire weekend together so that was a great experience and a fantastic result for Oman overall. It was an exhausting race, as I drove a lot of stints, but I am truly delighted with the result and thank the team for doing such a great job.”
