MUSCAT — Omani racing driver Ahmad Al Harthy returns to the scene of one of the biggest victories of his career this weekend as the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup resumes at Monza in Italy.
The second round of the 2026 endurance campaign marks Al Harthy’s first competitive return to the iconic Italian circuit since his history-making overall victory in the 2024 Monza race, where he became part of the first non-Pro class entry to win outright in GTWCE Endurance Cup history.
Driving the No.42 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for Oman Racing by Century Motorsport, Al Harthy heads into Sunday’s three-hour race alongside team-mates Calan Williams and Javier Sagrera aiming to build on a promising start to the season at Circuit Paul Ricard in France last month.
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The trio secured sixth place in the Bronze Cup category during the opening six-hour race of the campaign, with Al Harthy delivering one of the standout performances of the event after climbing from ninth in class to take the category lead midway through his stint.
Monza has long been one of Al Harthy’s strongest circuits, with the high-speed Italian track providing the backdrop to several memorable performances throughout his international racing career.
Reflecting on his return to Monza, Al Harthy said the memories of the 2024 victory remained special.
“Monza is such an amazing track with so much history, and it’s always a joy to race there,” he said.
“This will be my first time returning since the incredible win of 2024. I can still feel the exhilaration of that moment and the pride of standing on the top step of the podium with the Omani flag flying high.”
Ahead of the Monza weekend, Oman Racing by Century Motorsport completed a two-day Spa-Francorchamps test in Belgium as part of preparations for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa scheduled for June.
Al Harthy said the recent testing programme had boosted confidence within the team ahead of round two of the championship.
“The team made a good start to the season at Paul Ricard, and after productive testing at Spa we are carrying good confidence into this weekend,” he added.
Track action at Monza begins with the Bronze drivers’ test session on Thursday, followed by practice on Friday and Saturday. Qualifying is scheduled for Sunday morning, with the three-hour race set to start later in the afternoon.
