UK: Ahmad Al Harthy Knockhill qualifying notes

GREAT QUALIFYING EFFORT FROM AL HARTHY ON KNOCKHILL DEBUT

Knockhill debutant Ahmad Al Harthy delivered a highly impressive performance during qualifying for the 15th and 16th rounds of the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship this afternoon, Saturday, 4th September -- missing out on the Pro-Am 1 Class pole position by just 0.2 seconds.

The Omani racer, who celebrated his 29th birthday last Tuesday, made a major impact on his first ever run at the challenging 1.27-mile Scottish track during Friday's test sessions where he posted the second best time in Pro-Am 1 and sixth quickest overall.

Delighted with his pace and with how quickly he adapted to the demands of the notoriously tricky Fife circuit, Ahmad headed into today's all-important qualifying period aiming to push for the class pole position in his Oman Air, National Bank of Oman, Nawras, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs and Brand Oman liveried Porsche Carrera Cup car.

In a session as close as any seen this season between the Pro-Am 1 front-runners, the Redline Racing driver posted a best time of 51.657 seconds (88.59mph) which ended up being the fourth quickest in class -- just a couple of 10ths of a second away from pole position, only 0.1 seconds shy of second place and a mere 0.013 seconds behind third spot!

On second best times, which set the grid for round 16, Ahmad was again fourth in class with a time of 51.757 seconds. For Sunday's race action he is confident of fighting for the podium in each of the 32-lap encounters which will undoubtedly be very demanding and a real test of endurance.

"I'm quite happy with fourth in class, we did a good job but my best lap was compromised so I lost a couple of 10ths of a second -- in the end that was the difference to the Pro-Am 1 pole!", said Ahmad, "We always knew we'd probably hit traffic, and unfortunately we did, but I know we have a good car for the races so I'm feeling good.

"Friday's practice was brilliant, we had a fantastic day and I was able to get to grips with the track really well which started things off better than I could have hoped. Tomorrow I need to make sure I get a good start in both races and produce the pace we've had all weekend so far, if we can do that then we have a very good chance of pushing for the podium."

The first Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship race of the weekend, round 15, will get underway at 10.20 tomorrow, Sunday, 5th September, with round 16 following at 16.10. The second encounter will be screened live throughout the UK on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4.

-source: www.ahmadalharthy.com