Oman’s Al Faisal Al Zubair and Teammate Jens Klingmann Secure Podium Finish in Race 1 and Fourth Place in Race 2 at Magny-Cours
MAGNY-COURS (France): The Omani racer Al Faisal Al Zubair and his teammate at Al Manar Racing by HRT, Jens Klingmann, achieved strong results in the Magny-Cours round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup powered by AWS. The pair finished second in the first race and then crossed the finish line in fourth place in the second race.
The duo had originally finished third in the first race aboard their BMW M4 GT3 Evo but were promoted to second after a penalty was handed to a competitor in the Gold Cup class.
Despite starting from a back position in the Gold Cup class for the second race, they were able to advance several positions to secure valuable points with a fourth-place finish.
Omani driver Al Faisal Al Zubair said: “This was a tough round. I believe we achieved the best possible result with the BMW. Looking at the other manufacturers, it was impossible to achieve a better result. Although we scored a good number of points to compete for the championship title, it’s a little out of our control at the moment.”
He added: “Second place in the first race was good. But I don’t think we could have done better. We were slower than our rivals. We are fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings. Our performance in practice at this circuit was strong, but the car was given a 30kg weight penalty (for Balance of Performance). We will see what we get in the final round.”
This result means that Emil Frey Racing, with drivers Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen, lead the Sprint Cup with 90 points, ahead of Saintéloc Racing with 87.5 points. Garage 59 is in third place with 80 points, Tresor Attempto Racing is fourth with 73 points, while Al Manar Racing by HRT holds fifth place with 68.5 points.
Emil Frey Racing topped the timesheets in free practice on Friday morning, recording a time of 1:37.472, in a session where Al Manar Racing by HRT was sixth with a time of 1:38.559.
The pre-qualifying session was held on Friday evening, where Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini was the fastest with a time of 1:44.691. Al Manar Racing used this session to make adjustments to the BMW’s setup to find the perfect balance for the first qualifying session.
Klingmann participated in the first qualifying session, setting a time of 1:36.921, which placed him fourth on the grid behind pole-sitter Chris Lulham of Emil Frey Racing, the McLaren from Garage 59, and the Audi from Saintéloc Racing. Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) and Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini) started fifth and sixth in that race.
Klingmann made a good start in the early stages of the first race, with the car in third place when Al Faisal took over the cockpit. However, Lulham retired from the race on the first lap after colliding with another car.
Al Faisal Al Zubair showed strong pace in the BMW under the floodlights of the Magny-Cours circuit, and this speed resulted in a second-place final finish behind Garage 59 driver Louis Bret, after a penalty for a competitor ahead of Al Faisal at the finish line. Tresor Attempto Racing completed the podium positions, and this result brought Al Manar Racing by HRT back into contention for the title.
Al Faisal Al Zubair set a time of 1:37.269 in the second sprint race qualifying, placing him sixth on the Gold Cup grid, while Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari started from pole with a time of 1:36.107.
Al Zubair had a strong start, overtaking Sébastien Ogaard of Tresor Attempto Racing to take fifth place and begin chasing Garage 59 before Tresor Attempto briefly reclaimed fifth place.
After a successful driver change, Klingmann was in fifth place with half an hour remaining in the race. He was able to overtake Barwell Motorsport driver Bijoy Garg and began chasing Tresor Attempto Racing driver Leonardo Moncini for third place.
However, a full-course yellow flag dashed the chance of a podium finish with a few minutes remaining in the race. Klingmann was able to cross the finish line in fourth place, while Saintéloc Racing won the second race ahead of Garage 59 and Tresor Attempto Racing.
Al Manar Racing by HRT will return to competition at the Nürburgring round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Endurance Cup from August 29-31.
Current Gold Cup Standings – Teams
- Emil Frey Racing 90 points
- Saintéloc Racing 87.5 points
- Garage 59 80 points
- Tresor Attempto Racing 73 points
- Al Manar Racing by HRT 68.5 points
- Barwell Motorsport 15 points
- CSA Racing 9 points
Current Gold Cup Standings – Drivers
- Chris Lulham / Thierry Vermeulen 90 points
- Gilles Magnus / Paul Evrard 87.5 points
- Louis Bret 80 points
- Sébastien Ogaard / Leonardo Moncini 73 points
- Al Faisal Al Zubair / Jens Klingmann 68.5 points
- Thomas Fleming 54.5 points
- Adam Smalley 25.5 points
- Bijoy Garg / Ricky Collard 15 points
- Arthur Rougier / James Kell 9 points
