UAE Teams Prepare For UIM F1H2O World Championship's Grand Prix Of Zhengzhou Amidst Technical Challenges

Jonas Andersson from Sweden clinched pole position for the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, China. This event is part of the UIM F1H2O World Championship. Meanwhile, Team Abu Dhabi faced technical setbacks in this penultimate round. Rusty Wyatt of Sharjah Team leads the championship by 17 points over Andersson after securing third place in qualifying, behind France's Peter Morin.

Thani Al Qemzi from Team Abu Dhabi will start his 157th Grand Prix from eighth position. He hopes for better luck on the Yellow River circuit after a challenging time over the past two days. Al Qemzi encountered engine and battery issues during practice and qualifying. He retired midway through the first sprint session, with teammate Rashed Al Qemzi following shortly after.

Despite these setbacks, Thani Al Qemzi remains optimistic about improving his performance. "This race has just been bad luck," he said. "I had many problems, first with the engine, then with the battery, and now with the engine again. But tomorrow is a new race, and I hope to have a much better day." The Emirati driver aims to push through the field as he has done before.

Earlier in free practice sessions, Al Qemzi showed promise by clocking the third-fastest lap behind Wyatt and Morin. He topped Q1 with a late fast lap but was unable to secure pole position due to further technical issues that led to his boat being towed away from Q2.

Rusty Wyatt faced challenges too when water had to be drained from his boat at the start of Q2. Despite this, he managed to qualify in third place. However, his best lap time was cancelled due to race control breaches along with those of Stefan Arand and Morin.

Andersson experienced no such issues and maintained his title hopes by winning the first sprint race of the afternoon. This victory marked his 13th career pole position and served as a reminder to Wyatt that maintaining focus is crucial.

Andersson's Strong Performance

The Swedish driver capitalised on Erik Stark's third-place finish behind Wyatt in one of the sprint races to move into second place overall. Andersson’s performance keeps him firmly in contention for the 2024 title.

The five-time F2 world champion Rashed Al Qemzi replaced Alberto Comparato in Team Abu Dhabi’s line-up this season. His earlier performances indicated potential for making an impact despite recent challenges.

The mechanics at Team Abu Dhabi are working diligently on Thani Al Qemzi's boat ahead of tomorrow’s race day. The team remains hopeful for a turnaround in fortunes as they prepare for another competitive day on the water.

With inputs from WAM