Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi will host the first round of the UIM Class I Offshore Powerboats Championship on Friday with 10 boats competing.
This was announced yesterday at a press conference at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) attended by Ahmad Al Rumaithi, the member of the club's board of directors of the club, Nicolo Di San Germano, the international promoter of the championship, and Rashid Al Tayer, the pilot of the Abu Dhabi team boat.
"We are proud to play host to this event which will be held under the patronage of Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the ADIMSC, and I am confident that we will achieve great success on both fronts, the organisational and competitive fields," Al Rumaithi said.
"I am sure that the ADIMSC will again achieve great success in organising this event.
Four rounds
"We have four rounds this year which will kick off in Abu Dhabi, then we go to Italy before returning to Dubai. We have started negotiations to host the final round in China and for sure we will expand the competition next year with more sites in Europe and Asia." San Germano said.
The UAE will be represented by the Victory team with Arif Saif Al Zafein and Nadir Bin Hindi as pilot and co-pilot and the Abu Dhabi team with Al Tayer and co-pilot John Tomlinson.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will witness the return of Spirit of Qatar which will enter with two boats, the first steered by Shaikh Hassan Bin Jabr Al Thani and English co-pilot Steve Curtis and the second by Ali Al Nuaimi and his Italian co-pilot Matteo Nicolini while several European boats are also involved.
A raft of new technical rulings, new teams and drivers will add to the excitement.
