Tuesday 23 / September / 2025
World-famous Fuji Speedway in Japan is the destination for Ahmad Al Harthy this week for the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, where the Omani hopes to build on the outstanding podium finish achieved just over a fortnight ago in the USA.
Taking place this weekend, 27th/28th September, the seventh event of the FIA WEC campaign marks a great opportunity for Al Harthy and his Team WRT team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde – Fuji having also been the scene for a rostrum finish last season for Al Harthy and Rossi.
This year’s visit to Japan marks only the third of the Omani’s career, and on each occasion he has performed superbly. On his Fuji debut in 2023 Al Harthy climbed from 12th on the grid into podium contention within the first hour of racing, last year he, Rossi and then team-mate Maxime Martin stormed to a third place result for BMW and now the focus is to challenge for yet more silverware.
There is certainly a buzz among the team ahead of round seven after a remarkable performance at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, USA, a little over two weeks ago. In an absolutely rain-lashed six-hour race, which began behind the Safety Car and was actually red flagged due to the conditions after just an hour, Al Harthy, Rossi and van der Linde combined to deliver a sensational showing.
Van der Linde, especially, starred during the final half hour at COTA where a decision to switch onto slick Goodyear tyres paid dividends. Scything through from 10th position to second place at the finish, the No.46 BMW M4 LMGT3 was just 0.2 seconds shy of victory.
As a result, the squad’s second podium finish of the campaign elevated them back into the top 10 of the championship in both the driver and team standings – just six points shy of eighth place and 16 points outside the top six.
With 25 points available for a race win, 18 points for second place and 15 points for third, another rostrum visit in Japan could have a major impact. Notably, this year’s 6 Hours of Fuji carries extra prestige as it will be the 100th race in the history of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Going into the penultimate race meeting of the 2025 season, Al Harthy – supported as always by major partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman – is certainly feeling confident.
Ahmad Al Harthy:
“We’re all still buzzing from the second place at COTA. It was an incredible race, very unpredictable with the weather, the red flag, and that last half hour where Kelvin did such a fantastic job. We want to keep that momentum going this weekend in Japan and to try and challenge for another podium, especially in the 100th race of the World Endurance Championship – that would be very special.
“Fuji is an amazing circuit, I love driving there and it’s always a real highlight of the season. We’ve performed well there in both 2023 and 2024, and last year’s podium was a great result from 12th on the grid. As always, we’ll give maximum effort and work as hard as possible to try and deliver the best result for the team and for all of our amazing partners and supporters back home in Oman.”
Two free practice sessions will take place at Fuji Speedway on Friday, 26th September, with a third practice following on Saturday, 27th September, ahead of LMGT3 qualifying at 14.20 local time – the Hyperpole session begins at 14.40. The 6 Hours of Fuji race will get underway at 11.00 local time on Sunday, 28th September.
Live timing and live coverage will be available at www.fiawec.com
2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Driver Standings (after Rd6):
1st Riccardo Pera / Richard Lietz / Ryan Hardwick, 95pts
2nd Alessio Rovera / Francois Heriau / Simon Mann, 76pts
3rd Ben Keating / Daniel Juncadella / Jonny Edgar, 66pts
10th Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin van der Linde, 40pts
2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 Team Standings (after Rd6):
1st Manthey 1st Phorm (Porsche 911 GT3 R), 95pts
2nd Vista AF Corse (Ferrari 296), 76pts
3rd TF Sport (Corvette Z06), 66pts
10th Team WRT (BMW M4 LMGT3), 40pts
