MEDIA INFORMATION
UIM F2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Denmark – Aalborg, June 15-17
TEAM ABU DHABI’S RASHED AL-QEMZI STORMS INTO POLE POSITION FOR GRAND PRIX OF DENMARK IN AALBORG
· Rashed Al-Tayer qualifies in 10th position for Danish race; Dillard and Munthe-Kaas tied in second
AALBORG (DENMARK): Saturday, June 16: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi and Rashed Al-Tayer got to grips with qualifying for the Grand Prix of Denmark, the second round of the UIM F2 World Championship, and will start Sunday’s race on the seven-pin, 1.94km course on Aalborg’s Limfjord from pole and 10th positions.
Twenty-five boats took part in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session held in overcast and slightly windy conditions. American Brent Dillard impressed with a flying qualifying lap of 49.72sec and that was matched to the fraction of a second by Norway’s Tobias Munthe-Kaas.
But Al-Qemzi was the last of the drivers out on the course and, having confirmed third place on his opening run, the defending UIM F2 World Champion stormed into pole position on his second run with a time of 49.25sec. Germany’s Stefan Hagin carded a time of 50.03sec to claim fourth position. Al-Tayer had been the first of the 10 Q3 runners on to the course and qualified in 10th with a time of 52.66sec.
Etihad Airways is the official carrier for Team Abu Dhabi that is also supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and runs under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. 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 and under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, Vice-President and CEO of the ADIMSC. The racing team runs under the auspices of the ADIMSC and board member and general manager Salem Al-Remeithi and team manager Guido Cappellini.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into three sessions and Q1 was also split into two stints, with 13 boats taking to the water in the first one. Comparato moved to the top of the early rankings with a lap of 53.57sec only for Hagin to card a 52.03sec lap to snatch the lead and Segenmark to move into second with a 52.87sec run. Kalle Viippo, Mansoor Al-Mansoori and Ola Pettersson were three of the drivers eliminated.
Both Rashed Al-Qemzi and Rashed Al-Tayer lined up in the second group and the defending champion started well with a quick lap of 53.90sec to snatch the lead. Al-Tayer carded a 56.16 to move into fifth place. Dillard moved up to second with a 54.69sec after 12 minutes of the stint and pushed Al-Tayer down to sixth place and Riabko clocked a 54.47sec as well to move into second, only to be displaced by Ustinov soon afterwards. Al-Tayer retained fifth with a quicker lap of 54.97sec.
Oskar Samuelsson only managed two laps and was eliminated along with the likes of Uvis Slakteris and Gavin Bricker, as Al-Qemzi won the session with his fastest lap of 53.47sec and Dillard moved into second late on with a 53.54sec tour.
A further four boats would be eliminated in Q2 to reduce the number to 10 for Q3. Dillard made his intent known from the outset and laid down the gauntlet with a 53.22sec lap to move in front of Al-Qemzi (53.59sec). But the Emirati stormed back with a 52.18sec flyer to snatch the advantage and book his place in Q3.
Owen Jelf started the session seven minutes late and Al-Tayer was struggling at the rear of the field in 14th and in need of a fast lap to move into the top 10. The Emirati responded superbly to set a time of 53.97sec and moved into sixth place but began to drop back again as his rivals carded quicker times. He finished the session in 10th position, as Alberto Comparato, Christian Carlsen, Bimba Sjöholm and Héctor Sanz were eliminated.
Al-Tayer was first to clock a lap in Q3 and the Team Abu Dhabi driver set the target lap of 52.66sec on his first run. Riabko responded with a best run of 50.94sec and Jelf recorded a best run of 51.90sec. Hagin was next on to the course and the German stormed into provisional pole with a best lap of 50.03sec. Dutchman Ferdinand Zandbergen could not match the German with his best lap of 51.12sec and Daniel Segenmark also fell short with a sole lap of 51.03sec.
Dillard was on another level, however, and the American snatched the lead with a flying opener of 49.72sec. Konstantin Ustinov’s best lap was his second run of 50.28sec. Tobias Munthe-Kaas clocked an opener of 50.15sec and then equalled Dillard with a 49.72. That paved the way for Al-Qemzi to draw the curtain on qualifying and the Emirati opened with a lap of 49.75sec to move into third position and stormed into pole position on iis last lap with a 49.25sec flyer.
Practice
Al-Qemzi dominated the practice session on Saturday morning with a best early lap of 51.41sec and that put him at the top of the early standings, with Hagin, Comparato and Samuelsson holding the top four positions. Al-Tayer was down in 14th position with a best lap of 54.47sec. Al-Qemzi eventually confirmed the session win with a lap of 50.55sec, as Dillard and Munthe-Kaas climbed into second and third positions and Christian Carlsen rounded off the top four.
There will be further warm-up laps available on Sunday morning, prior to a Repecharge race, and the Grand Prix of Denmark is scheduled for 13.15hrs, so as not to clash with the UIM F1 H20 Grand Prix of London.
2018 Grand Prix of Denmark – qualifying times:
Q3
1. Rashed Al-Qemzi (UAE) 49.25sec
2. Brent Dillard (USA) 49.72sec
2. Tobias Munthe-Kaas (NOR) 49.72sec
4. Stefan Hagin (DEU) 50.03sec
5. Konstantin Ustinov (RUS) 50.28sec
6. Edgaras Riabko (LIT) 50.94sec
7. Daniel Segenmark (SWE) 51.03sec
8. Ferdinand Zandbergen (NED) 51.12sec
9. Owen Jelf (GBR) 51.90sec
10. Rashed Al-Tayer (UAE) 52.66sec
Q2
11. Alberto Comparato (ITA) 54.00sec
12. Christian Carlsen (NOR) 54.03sec
13. Bimba Sjöholm (SWE) 54.19sec
14. Héctor Sanz (ESP) 54.69sec
– Ends –
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
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