Oman’s Al Faisal Al Zubair and his Al Manar Racing by HRT team-mate, Jens Klingmann, finished the second Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup race in fourth place in the Gold Cup class at Italy’s Misano World Circuit on Sunday, after a disappointing first race and an early retirement following a first-lap incident.
The duo had shown strong pace in the BMW M4 GT3 EVO during practice and qualifying at the challenging Misano circuit. However, Al Zubair was handed a 10-place grid penalty for the second race after the frustrating early retirement from race one.
Race two also saw an early red flag, with a lengthy delay while safety barriers were repaired.
Al Faisal Al Zubair handed over driving duties to team-mate Jens Klingmann in the final half-hour of the race, with the Al Manar Racing by HRT pair crossing the finish line in fourth place in the Gold Cup class behind Emil Frey Racing [Ferrari], Sainteloc Racing [Audi], and the race one-winning Garage 59 McLaren.
Oman’s Al Faisal Al Zubair said: “It was a very long race and starting from so far back certainly made it more difficult. We started from P32 overall, but the car was amazing throughout. I moved up to P21 overall during my stint, but a slight delay in the pit stop cost us a chance of a podium finish in third place in the Gold Cup class.”
He added: “We crossed the finish line in fourth place. With no points scored in the first race on Saturday, this was certainly not an easy round. We hope to score more points in the upcoming rounds and continue to compete for the championship title.”
He continued: “Race one saw contact at turn six for my team-mate Jens Klingmann, with Chris Looham and Maxime Martin. This led to our retirement from the race and also a penalty. So, we have to be happy with achieving fourth place in the second race and that the car was working well.”
The start to the weekend had been ideal for Al Zubair and Klingmann, who topped the free practice session on Friday afternoon. They completed 49 laps with a best time of 1:33.026 minutes to lead Emil Frey Racing and Saintéloc Racing. Al Manar Racing by HRT also maintained their lead in the Gold Cup class in Friday evening’s pre-qualifying session.
Klingmann qualified second in the first qualifying session behind Emil Frey Racing driver Chris Looham in the Ferrari, and started from second in the Gold Cup class and eighth overall in the one-hour race, ahead of Garage 59 in third place in the McLaren.
However, Klingmann’s efforts to compete for the race one victory were dashed moments after his impressive start when the car was hit from behind just a few corners into the first lap. He returned to the pit lane with damaged rear suspension before retiring.
That incident also led to the retirement of pole-sitter Looham and paved the way for Louis Prette to win the Gold Cup class for Garage 59 after 36 laps of racing.
The disappointment of race one meant that Al Faisal Al Zubair had to push again for a strong result in race two. He set the fourth-fastest time in qualifying for that race on Sunday morning, with a 1:32.952 minute lap after HRT technicians repaired the BMW’s damage, while Gilles Magnus took pole position for Sainteloc Racing.
However, Al Faisal Al Zubair received a grid penalty due to his team-mate’s accident in race one, resulting in a five-place drop after the team’s successful appeal reduced the penalty from 10 to five places on the grid.
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup will continue with round four at France’s Magny-Cours circuit between August 1-3.
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