Al Harthy Aims For Winning Start With Al Nabooda Racing In Bahrain

Ahmad Al Harthy will take a winning mentality into his debut for Al Nabooda Racing who begin their quest for a third successive team crown in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East at Bahrain International Circuit next week.

Al Harthy, who teams up with 2012-13 Porsche GT3 Cup individual champion Clemens Schmid for the start of the 12-round series, believes he can quickly build up an understanding with the Austrian driver and land another title for the Dubai outfit.

“I have never joined a team that wasn’t hungry to win, so my approach doesn’t change with Al Nabooda Racing,” said the Omani driver. “We know the goals. We want to win the team championship again and everybody has to play their part to achieve that.”

Schmid, who won seven out of 12 races in each of the last two seasons as Al Nabooda Racing dominated the series, returns to GT3 Cup action after claiming 10th place overall in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, which runs alongside the F1 World Championship.

His two top ten finishes at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas last weekend showed he is fully fit following a race crash in Germany, and Al Harthy believes the new partnership can flourish from the first GT3 Cup race weekend on 14-15 November.

“Clemens and I both want to produce our best performances for the team and that’s going to push us both forward,” he said. “I have a lot to learn from him, particularly during the first race weekend, and perhaps he will take note of some things I do as the plan is for us to help each other.

“He has the most experience on the grid by far and is coming to Bahrain straight from the Supercup. It’s going to be a good learning curve for me.”

Al Harthy has not raced in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East since embarking on a limited campaign in the series in the 2011-12 season, when he won a round at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.

Having concentrated on endurance racing in the UK last season he said: “The most important thing for me is to get to know GT3 Cup car again. It’s been a while since I drove one, and I need to understand the car again and get to know the characteristics of the GT3 Cup series. But I should get enough practice and track time to be ready for the start of the season.”

Vijay Rao, Team Manager and General Manager, Al Nabooda Automobiles LLC, Porsche Importer Dubai Northern Emirates, said: “The entire time will work hard to make Ahmad feel at home with us. We’re sure that his experience and personality will allow him to settle in very quickly.”

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