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MEDIA INFORMATION
2018 UIM-ABP AQUABIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Mediterranean, Olbia – June 1-3
TEAM ABU DHABI’S RASHID AL-MULLA RESUMES FREESTYLE TITLE CHALLENGE IN SARDINIA
· Rashed Al-Tayer to make first appearance of season in Runabout GP1 category
OLBIA (ITALY): Wednesday, May 30: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla resumes his quest for Freestyle category points in the
UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship at this weekend’s Grand Prix of the Mediterranean off the shore of the city of Olbia in Sardinia.
Despite a minor arm injury, the 31-year-old Dubai-based water artist dominated the two heats at the opening round in Gallipoli last weekend and, as the entire field of Runabout GT1, Ski Division and Ski Ladies entrants join the Freestyle contingent on the picturesque Italian island, Al-Mulla will be hoping to pull clear of his series rivals.
Both Nak and Roc Floranjcic missed the opening race weekend on the eastern coast of Italy and that enabled Al-Mulla to card his eighth consecutive heat triumph, third successive Grand Prix win and storm into a 10-point championship lead over the Italian world number one Roberto Mariani. Alberto Camerlengo holds third place in the points’ standings and Portugal’s Paulo Nunes and Russia’s Alexander Kuramshin are fourth and fifth.
Rashed Al-Tayer missed the opening round of the UIM-ABP Tour in Gallipoli because the event was a direct date clash with the Team Abu Dhabi racer’s UIM F2 World Championship commitments in Kaunas, Lithuania.
The Emirati will now make his first appearance of the season in the hotly-contested Runabout GP1 category where he faces fierce competition from the likes of Kuwait’s Gallipoli winner Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq, Frenchman Jeremy Perez, Hungarian racer Gyorgy Kasza and Sweden’s Lars Akerblom.
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 umbrella of the ADIMSC, board member and general manager Salem Al-Remeithi.
Olbia is a coastal city in north-eastern Sardinia and features an historic port and a main ferry port on an island in the bay. It thrives on the tourism industry. The weekend’s racing is being organised under the auspices of the UIM and the Federazione Italiana Motonautica and Aquabike Promotion Ltd.
Freestyle entrants will be permitted to practice for 20 minutes between 09.30hrs and 14.00hrs on Friday (June 1) before the pole position session start at 16.30hrs. There will be two competitive sessions on Saturday (June 2) starting with Moto 1 for all categories at 09.30hrs and then an evening Moto 2 session for the Freestyle entrants between 20.30hrs and 22.00hrs.
Further free practice will be permitted for all classes between 09.30hrs and 13.00hrs on Sunday (June 3) and Moto 3 takes place between 14.30hrs and 19.00hrs.
2018 UIM-ABP World Championship – current Freestyle standings
1. Rashid Al-Mulla (UAE) 50pts
2. Roberto Mariani (ITA) 40pts
3. Alberto Camerlengo (ITA) 32pts
4. Paolo Nunes (PRT) 26pts
5. Alexander Kuramshin (RUS) 22pts
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.aquabike.net
www.adimsc.ae