F1 Team Abu Dhabi drivers, Thani Al Qamzi and Ahmed Al Hameli, go into the GP of China starting grid today (Sunday) in second and third respectively following yesterday’s successful Pole Position Shoot Out.
With the 2008 UIM F1 World Powerboating Championship making its return to the water after a four-month mid-season break, both drivers were keen to record good qualifying times in this fifth round, held in China’s Liuzhou.
Both F1 Team Abu Dhabi drivers put in solid performances, evidence that their recent testing sessions in Italy have paid off, with Al Qamzi clinching second and stopping the clock on 35.36secs - just 0.03secs off first qualifier, Sami Selio.
Al Hameli, who claimed the UIM Powerboats Rookie of the Year title in 2007, continued his good run of form to qualify in third with a personal best time of 35.54secs. Nine-time UIM World Champion, Guido Cappellini, took fourth spot on the grid thanks to his effort of 35.85secs.
Al Hameli is currently third overall in the Drivers’ Championship and will take confidence from the words of F1 Team Abu Dhabi manager, Scott Gillman, who believes the young Emirati could be in a position to win a maiden world title with consistent results in the two China rounds and December’s season finale in the UAE.
Gillman, himself a four-time UIM World Champion, also believes the UAE capital-backed outfit, currently joint fifth, can still clinch the overall team title, but everything depends on the final four rounds of the season and the boats remaining problem free.
And Al Qamzi, F1 Team Abu Dhabi’s lead driver, will be fervently hoping that today will not see a repeat of the technical problems that have plagued him all season.
But Al Hameli and Al Qamzi believe their mechanical issues are behind them, preferring instead to look to the future.
“I know that there is a history of record-breaking laps in China,” said Al Qamzi, who has twice finished third in the overall driver standings. “I have been keeping that in mind and I am hoping that I can go out there today and set a new time for everyone to aim at.”
Al Hameli added that the problems F1 Team Abu Dhabi encountered in the past have only made them more determined.
“What we went through during the other GPs has given us the confidence to get out there and win this race. When I am on the starting line today, the only thing I will have in my mind is winning and doing what Team Abu Dhabi came out here to do.”
