Italian tune-up propels Team AD in Lithuania

After a pre-season warm-up in Italy, Team Abu Dhabi are ready for an all-out assault on the 2019 UIM F2 World Championship which launches its new season in Lithuania on Saturday.

Rashed Al Qemzi, the 2017 F2 world champion, and Rashed Al Tayer, are primed and eager to start the campaign after a final training session staged by team manager Guido Cappellini in San Nazzaro this week en route to the Lithuania Grand Prix.

The two Emiratis will be among 24 drivers from 14 nations taking part in official practice on the Kaunas Reservoir tomorrow morning ahead of the later qualifying sessions for Sunday afternoon’s opening race of the season.

Capellini, who recently signed a new long-term contract to guide Team Abu Dhabi up to 2025, hopes Qemzi and Tayer can follow the lead of Shaun Torrente and Thani Al Qemzi who captured another F1H2O world title for the team last season and top this year’s standings.

They face intense competition however, not least from American Brent Dillard and Norway’s Tobias Munthe Kaas who are expected to be among the top contenders in the series which concludes in Abu Dhabi from Dec.5-7.

For Qemzi, last year’s F2 runner-up, there is obvious motivation to be found this weekend as he scored a superb championship debut victory in Lithuania two years ago on his way to the F2 crown.

Meanwhile, in a last minute change of plan, America’s Brent Dillard will be racing a Moore hull during the UIM F2 Grand Prix of Lithuania this weekend. Dillard had been testing Alberto Comparato’s World Championship winning DAC hull in Italy earlier this week, however, on balance, he felt that the Moore boat that he campaigned last season was better suited to him when he needed high speed in Kaunus.

The team will be back testing the DAC in Italy soon ready for the next race of the championship in Tonsberg, Norway.


2019 UIM F2 Grand Prix of Lithuania line-up

Country    No.    Driver

SWE    2    Johan Österberg

GBR    3     Owen Jelf

UAE    4    Ahmad Al Fahim

AUT    5    Rupp Temper

SWE    6    Ola Pettersson

USA    8    Brent Dillard

NOR    9    Mette Brandt Bjerknæs

SWE    10    Oskar Samuelsson    

SWE    11    Bimba Sjöholm

GER    12    Mike Szymura

NED    17     Ferdinand Zandbergen

GER    19    Stefan Hagin

RUS    20    Konstantin Ustinov

UAE    27    Manoor Al Mansoori

UAE    35    Rashed Al Qemzi

UAE    36     Rashed Al Tayer

ESP    37    Hector Sanz

LTU    41     Edgaras Riabko

FRA    44    Philippe Tourre

POR    45     Duarte Benavente

LAT    51    Uvis Slakteris

SWE    54    Daniel Segenmark

LAT    71    Nikita Lijcs

NOR    77    Tobias Munthe-Kaas

FIN    95     Kalle Viippo

GER    96     Nick Bisterfeld