Abu Dhabi: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al Qemzi stands on the verge of creating history for the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). The talented young Emirati racer heads to Ribadouro in Portugal for the final round of the UIM F2 World Championship this weekend safe in the knowledge that a top four finish on the Duoro River would secure the championship title.
Victory in Lithuania and third place finish in Norway have given last year’s UIM F4-S Trophy winner 32 valuable championship points and with 20 available for the winner in Portugal, 15 for second, 12 for third and nine for fourth place, the Emirati’s advantage of 12 points over the vastly experienced Swede Pierre Lundin (20 points) puts Team Abu Dhabi firmly in the driving seat in Portugal.
Mathematically, seven drivers can still win the 2017 UIM F2 World Championship: victory for Frenchman Nelson Morin (16 points) and results going his way would give the CTIC China Team driver the honours, while both Sweden’s Johan Osterberg and Russia’s Konstantin Ustinov have 15 points apiece and an outright win would give them 35 and an outside chance of taking the spoils. Both Ola Pettersson of Sweden and Lithuania’s Edgaras Riabko have 13 points and only a win and a mathematical miracle would see them lifting the trophy on Sunday evening in Ribadouro.
Mohammad Al Muhairbi drives the second of the Team Abu Dhabi boats and will offer valuable support to Al Qemzi.
“This is the big moment for Rashid and the entire team in F2,” said Salem Al Remeithi, ADIMSC general manager. “We know what we have to do and Rashid’s pace in Liuzhou at the F1 H2O race last weekend was very impressive. He very nearly finished in the points and set some particularly good lap times in qualifying. That experience against the very best in the world will stand him in good stead for what promises to be a very exciting race on Sunday.”
