Team Abu Dhabi driver ready for big tussle as he looks to build on opening victory in Lithuania
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi is prepared for another mighty tussle in Norway at the weekend as he bids to stay on course for a second world powerboat racing title this season.
Al Qemzi, aiming to recapture the UIM F2 World Championship crown which he won in 2017, leads the 2019 series following his dramatic opening round victory in Lithuania last month.
Since then the Emirati driver has celebrated success as a member of the four-man Team Abu Dhabi crew who clinched the World Endurance Championships in Poland, and he is determined to extend the winning streak.
Among his team-mates on that occasion, Rashed Al Tayer joins Al Qemzi in the starting line-up for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Norway, the first of three F2 championship rounds in the space of six weeks.
With races to follow in Italy and Portugal prior to December’s final round in Abu Dhabi, both are determined to make their mark in the ancient Viking town of Tønsberg, Norway’s oldest, at the weekend.
After dominating F2 qualifying in Lithuania, Al Qemzi was awarded his second win in three years in Kaunas when Norwegian Tobias Munthe-Kaas collected a one lap penalty for a race buoy infringement after finishing ahead of the Emirati.
That setback left the Norwegian down in ninth place in the championship, and he will be eagerly looking for revenge in Tønsberg.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Al Tayer also wants to put the memory of the Kaunas race behind him after recovering from a crash in qualifying to start the Grand Prix, but going out when his boat was rammed at a turn.
UIM F2 World Championship standings
1 35 Rashed Al Qemzi UAE 20
2 54 Daniel Segenmark SWE 15
3 17 Ferdinand Zandbergen NL 12
4 8 Brent Dillard USA 9
5 3 Owen Jelf GBR 7
6 6 Ola Pettersson SWE 5