Campione d’Italia: Making a welcome change from their recent successes in the UIM XCAT World Series and the UIM F1 H2O World Championship, Team Abu Dhabi are about to embark on another powerboating challenge by entering two race boats in the UIM F2 Italian Grand Prix at Campione d’Italia this weekend.
The second round of the prestigious UIM F2 World Championship is centred around the beautiful Italian municipality of Campione d’Italia and the team from the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) has confirmed that Mohammad Al Mehairbi and Rashid Al Qamzi will drive Team Abu Dhabi boats 36 and 35, the two race hulls that were used at the 24 Hours of Rouen in the spring.
Team Abu Dhabi personnel arrived in Italy on Wednesday to begin their preparations for the racing on Saturday and Sunday, where they face fierce competition from the likes of early season leader Alberto Comparato and F1 and F-4S racing regulars, Bimba Sjoholm, Pierre Lundin, Tobias Munthe-Kaas and Uvis Slakteris.
“Everyone is looking forward to this exciting new challenge for Team Abu Dhabi,” said Salem Al Rumaithi, assistant general manager of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC), who was joined in Italy by the likes of the team’s technical supervisor Nasser Al Dhaheri, media spokesmen Khalid Al Saadi and Hossam Jamal Al Din and on-event race team manager Guido Cappellini.
“We achieved great success in these boats with the class victory at the 24 Hours of Rouen and it was an obvious step for our drivers to venture into the world of F2 racing. Mohammad and Rashid have experience in all kinds of racing and I am confident that they can achieve an excellent performance against some of the best up-and-coming racers in Europe,” added Al Rumaithi.
Alex Carella represented the Abu Dhabi Team at the opening F2 round in Finland and the Rouen Class S2 winner was also the provisional winner of that first F2 race at Peurunka, until a technical scrutineer discovered a wiring anomaly and the boat was disqualified from the race standings.
Campione d’Italia is located in the province of Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy and is an Italian enclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, separated from the rest of Italy by mountains. The nearest Italian town is Lanzo d’Intelvi, which is close to Cappellini’s home city of Como.
Team Abu Dhabi are sponsored by Etihad Airways and run under the patronage of Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, adviser to the Head of State and chairman of the board of directors of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC).
Teams carry out the compulsory administration checks and technical scrutineering on Friday and free practice then takes centre stage on Saturday. The qualifying session is then split into three sessions – Q1 Q2 and Q3 – from 4.30pm UAE time and a Match Race rounds off the day’s action from 7.30pm. Further free practice is permitted on Sunday from 12.25pm - and the UIM F2 Italian Grand Prix roars into life from 4.35pm.
