Dubai: Teams from the UAE are confident of a strong start despite foul weather postponing the start of the Grand Prix of Portugal for a second successive day in the Algarve region of Portimao, on Saturday.
Gale force winds and gusts in excess of 70 km/h forced the cancellation of all activities in Portimao for a second successive day at the 16th Grand Prix of Portugal on Saturday.
None of the 19 boats belonging to nine teams in the fray for top honours in the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championships this season were able to get into the waters of the Arade River in southern Portugal for a second successive day due to prevailing weather conditions.
Similar conditions had forced the cancellation of the official practice session on Friday as well, and Saturday’s BRM Qualifying session too had to be called off after winds rose to more than 70 km/h.
As per the initial schedule released for Sunday, a second practice session was to be followed by the 16th running of the Grand Prix of Portugal. However, organisers have now been left with no option but to have the qualifying session and the race on the same day on Sunday.
Team Abu Dhabi is fielding three DAC boats for Italian Alex Carella along with the Emirati duo of Thani Al Qamzi and Rashid Al Qamzi, while the Victory Team set-up under new manager Scott Gillman has Ahmad Al Hameli and Shaun Torrente along with the Emirates Racing Team’s Marit Stromoy and Mike Szymura.
“Everybody is anxious to get in their boats and get some work done. We are trying to get some data so that we can move forward with the racing,” Torrente told Gulf News from Portimao.
“Tomorrow morning we are going to be out early on the waters for the qualifying without any sort of testing on the actual course. The conditions are such, so we will have to use data from last year and hopefully things will work out in our favour,” the American driver added.
The nine team line-up is loaded with talent, boasting of three world champions, nine drivers who have taken Grand Prix victories and a further three who have finished on the podium at some point of their careers.
One of these is Team Abu Dhabi driver Thani Atiq Al Qamzi. “It is going to be a hard final day without any sort of actual testing for everyone. We have done a lot of testing in Abu Dhabi in similar conditions and that should be an advantage to us,” Al Qamzi said.
“We are confident we can bring home a few points and start the season on the right note,” he added.
UIM commissioner and race director Luis Ribeiro shrugged off the delay. “For us, the issue is not just about the wind. We had to contend with the tides as well as the river depth dictates how safe we can be during the race,” he said.
