2014 UIM F1 H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Middle East, Doha – round 3, November 13-15
For immediate release
Thursday, November 13th, 2014
QATAR TEAM RACES AGAINST TIME TO PREPARE
NEW F-4S MOLGAARD BOATS FOR DOHA DEBUT
· F1 qualifying and opening UIM F-4S time trials and race on Friday
· QMSF’s Mona Nasser: two very different lives working in tandem
DOHA (QATAR): The Qatar Team took delivery of a pair of new Danish-built Molgaard race boats from Sweden on the eve of scrutineering and administration for the Grand Prix of Middle East and mechanics and other team members were embroiled in a race against time to prepare the new race craft for their first on-water action in Doha Bay on Friday morning.
Supported by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), team drivers Mohammed Al-Obaidly and Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari are taking part in the competitive UIM F-4S Trophy and there will be two 20-minute support races on Friday and Saturday, preceded by practice and qualifying sessions. The pair currently hold sixth and seventh places in the points’ standings.
Al-Obaidly is relishing the prospect of racing in his new Molgaard. He said: “we are delighted with the new boats, they arrived at one in the night (Thursday) from Sweden. We slept for just maybe three or four hours and have been working on them since then.
“My last boat was too short and the handling was not that good. This one, for sure 100%, will be better with the handling. Acceleration will be better and Khalid and I both think we can achieve much better results and performances with these new boats.”
Al-Obaidly and Al-Kuwari face stiff competition for honours in the F-4S Trophy. Germany’s Mike Szymura claimed two first and one second place from the opening two race meetings in Qatar and China and takes a 25-point lead over young Aussie female racer Briney Rigby into the Doha race weekend.
Norway’s Joakim Halvorsen of Team Nautica and Jan Andre Landsnes of the Motorglass Team are tied in third place, nine points adrift of the Australian girl.
While the two F-4S Trophy races are likely to be overshadowed by the battle for F1 H2O honours and the expected tussle between the Qatar Team’s Alex Carella and Shaun Torrente and their international rivals, there is no disputing that the F-4S Trophy is the lifeblood and future of H2O Racing.
The list of drivers who have graduated to the pinnacle of racing from the F-4S Trophy includes Jesper Forss, Filip Roms and Xiong Ziwei, all of whom will be present on the starting grid for Saturday’s Grand Prix of Middle East.
Organising an event of the scale and grandeur of the Grand Prix of Middle East is no mean feat and officials from H2O Racing rely on the vital support of QMSF personnel on the ground in Qatar to ensure that everything runs smoothly before, during and after the racing.
Mona Nasser has been a contact figurehead for the QMSF for several seasons and her expertise on the subjects of logistics staffing and organising local authorities and companies to ensure the smooth running of marine sports events in Qatar have not gone unnoticed.
But Mona is a busy lady and, aside from her overwhelming part-time commitments and hectic schedule with the QMSF, she is a part-time student in the second year of a three-year Business Management – Human Resources Management degree at the College of the North Atlantic Qatar, where she has just received a special ‘Member of Honor Society’ 2014 award for the academic excellence of her second-year work.
“They are certainly long days, but the work with the QMSF is very rewarding and I also enjoy my studies immensely,” enthused Nasser. “I have one year to go in my course and then I look forward to progressing my exciting and demanding work with the QMSF.”
Tomorrow (Friday), the three qualifying sessions for the F1 H2O teams takes centre stage from 15.30hrs, but this is preceded by a hectic morning of free practice for both the F1 and F-4S crews, F-4S time trials and the first of the F-4S Trophy races, starting at 14.30hrs.
2014 Grand Prix of Middle East – F1 list of starters:
1. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team
2. Shaun Torrente (QAT) Qatar Team
7. Philippe Chiappe (FRA) China CTIC Team
8. Xiong Ziwei (CHN) China CTIC Team
9. Yousef Al-Rubayan (KUW) F1 GC Atlantic Team
10. Duarte Benavente (PRT) F1 GC Atlantic Team
11. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team
12. Filip Roms (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team
14. Jonas Andersson (SWE) Team Sweden
15. Jesper Forss (SWE) Team Sweden
18. Bartek Marszalek (POL) Motorglass F1 Team
24. Francesco Cantando (ITA) Motorglass F1 Team
33. Ivan Brigada (ITA) Caudwell Racing
34. Tomas Cermak (SVK) Caudwell Racing
50. Marit Stromoy (NOR) Team Nautica
51. Erik Stark (SWE) Team Nautica
2014 Grand Prix of Middle East – F-4S Trophy list of starters:
10. Mike Szymura (DEU) F1 GC Atlantic Team
29. Ronny Mathys (SUI) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team
35. Jan Andre Landsnes (NOR) Motorglass F1 Team
41. Briney Rigby (AUS) Team Sweden
63. Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT) Qatar Team
78. Mickus Sigitas (LIT) Team Nautica
88. Bincheng Wu (CHN) China CTIC Team
96. Mohammed Al-Obaidly (QAT) Qatar Team
2014 F-4S Trophy – latest positions:
1. Mike Szymura (DEU) F1 GC Atlantic Team 55 pts
2. Briney Rigby (AUS) Team Sweden 30 pts
3. Joakim Halvorsen (NOR) Team Nautica 21 pts
3. Jan Andre Landsnes (NOR) Motorglass F1 Team 21 pts
5. Jesper Forss (SWE) Team Sweden 20 pts
6. Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT) Qatar Team 14 pts
7. Mohamad Al-Obaidly (QAT) Qatar Team 13 pts
8. Nikita Lijcs (LVA) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team 12 pts
9. Bincheng Wu (CHN) China CTIC Team 7 pts
9. Morgan Jernfast (SWE) Team Nautica 7 pts
9. Mohamed Al-Mehairbi (ARE) Team Abu Dhabi 7 pts
12. Rashed Al-Remeithi (ARE) Team Abu Dhabi 4 pts
13. Ronny Mathys (SUI) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team 0 pt
2014 Grand Prix of Middle East – timetable of events
Friday, November 14
09.00-10.00 F1 free practice
10.10-10.30 F-4S free practice
10.40-12.00 F-4S time trial
14.30-14.50 F-4S race one – 20mins
15.30-16.30 F1 qualifying
17.00 Press conference
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com,
www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases). Twitter: @LordPerkins
www.qmsf.org
www.f1h20.com