ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL MARINE SPORTS CLUB GEARING UP FOR FRENETIC MONTH OF POWERBOAT RACING

·  Abu Dhabi to host three crucial Grand Prix in three different race series in space of four weeks

ABU DHABI (UAE): Wednesday, November 9:  The Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) is gearing up for one of the busiest and most important months of thrilling offshore and F1 H2O racing action in its history.

The ADIMSC will host three vital Grand Prix race meetings in three different UIM-sanctioned racing championships in the space of four frenetic weeks, starting with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the 2016 UIM XCAT World Series, on November 17-18.

There will be no respite, after some of the world’s finest offshore racers have battled it out for supremacy off the Abu Dhabi Breakwater and Corniche, as the club will then switch its attentions to hosting the four-day UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, one of the sport’s most prestigious racing series’, from November 22-25.

The thrilling spectacle of offshore powerboat racing will then be replaced in the spotlight with what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the 2016 UIM F1 H2O World Championship, with the ADIMSC hosting the penultimate round of the series on an in-shore course, near the Abu Dhabi Breakwater, on December 8-9.

The host venue will form an integral part of the racing as well as club personnel organising the three UIM–sanctioned events. Team Abu Dhabi will be hoping to defend the Class 1 world title it won last season and spring back into contention to win the UIM F1 H2O Drivers’ Championship for the fifth time and the first time since 2006. A team driver is also in contention to win the UIM F4-S Championship for the first time on the two shorter support races that run during the December 8-9 race meeting.

Team Abu Dhabi is supported by Etihad Airways as the official carrier and sponsor 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 (ADIMSC). The racing team runs under the auspices of the ADIMSC, racing manager Guido Cappellini and Salem Al-Romeithi.

“This is a crucial period in the 2016 UIM racing calendar with two championships nearing their conclusion and the ADIMSC also hosting the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship,” said Salem Al-Romaithi, assistant general manager of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). 

“Bringing these three events together to the high standard that we want to achieve is a complete team effort for everyone connected with the club and we are all relishing the prospect of witnessing spectacular racing in three different sporting disciplines on our home waters close to the ADIMSC.

“It all starts with the final round of the XCAT series and then we host the Class 1 racing virtually straight afterwards. Then, we have just less than two weeks to prepare for the arrival of everyone from H2O Racing and all the competitors taking part in the F1 and F4-S Championships. These are exciting times for everyone connected with the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club and I am sure local enthusiasts and spectators will turn out in great numbers to support and enjoy the racing.”

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS:

November 17-18           Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, final round of the 2016 UIM XCAT World Series

November 22-25           Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, 2016 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship

December 8-9                   Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, penultimate round of the 2016 UIM H2O World Championship