MEDIA INFORMATION
UIM F2 Portugal Grand Prix – Ribadouro
October 7-9, 2016
TEAM ABU DHABI’S AL-QAMZI AND AL-TAYER TARGET PODIUM
FINISHES AT FINAL ROUND OF UIM F2 CHAMPIONSHIP IN PORTUGAL
· Rashed Al-Tayer joins Rashed Al-Qamzi to represent Team Abu Dhabi on Douro River course in Ribadouro
RIBADOURO (PORTUGAL): Wednesday, October 5: Jet-setting Team Abu Dhabi driver Rashed Al-Qamzi heads straight from Liuzhou in China to team up with Rashed Al-Tayer at this weekend’s UIM F2 Portugal Grand Prix, the final round of the UIM F2 World Championship, on the Douro River in Portugal.
Fresh from extending his advantage in the UIM F4-S Championship to 36 points on China’s Liu River on Monday, Al-Qamzi now switches his attention to finishing his UIM F2 campaign in style after claiming a career-best second place at the last round of the series on the Saône river at Mâcon in France last month.
Al-Tayer made his first appearance alongside Al-Qamzi at the penultimate round of the series in France and was holding 13th position before retiring with technical issues, but the experienced powerboat racing all-rounder is keen to further his experience in the exciting and competitive discipline of F2 racing.
Sweden’s Pierre Lundin clinched this year’s title by winning the last race in France and heads to Portugal with an unassailable lead of 20 points over fellow countryman Erik Edin in the overall standings. The pair have been the class of the field this season, although Al-Qamzi missed two of the six rounds so far this season and has done well to move into ninth in the rankings, a mere two points behind the promising English driver Owen Jelf and three behind Sweden’s Johan Österberg.
“Rashed Al-Qamzi proved at the last F2 race that the decision for Team Abu Dhabi to venture into F2 racing was a good one with his superb second position against some of Europe’s fastest racers,” said Salem Al-Romaithi, assistant general manager of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). “It’s been a busy few weeks for everyone in the team and what better way for Rashed and Rashed Al-Tayer to wrap up their F2 campaigns than by repeating the podium finish in Portugal.”
Team Abu Dhabi is sponsored by Etihad Airways and runs under the patronage of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, advisor to the Head of State and chairman of the board of directors of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC).
The final round of the UIM F2 series is being organised by Clube Náutico Ribadouro and takes place on the Douro River in Ribadouro. Ribadouro was a parish in the municipality of Baião in the Porto District of Portugal, but it was abolished in 2013 as part of a national administrative reform and a new parish, called the Union of Parishes of Ancede and Ribadouro, was created.
Teams will pass through scrutineering and administration checks on Friday (October 7) before drivers are permitted a practice session on the Douro River course on Saturday morning from 11.00hrs (14.00hrs UAE time).
F2 qualifying then takes centre stage from 14.30hrs (17.30hrs). The UIM F2 Portugal Grand Prix is scheduled for 14.15hrs (17.15hrs UAE time) on Sunday afternoon.
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For further media information and information about Team Abu Dhabi:
Please contact: Khalid Al Saadi, Media Incharge, Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, P.O. Box 45656, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Mobile Telephone: + 971 50 768 6761, E-mail: alsaadi@adimsc.ae.
www.adimsc.ae