Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi secured his fourth UIM F2
World Championship title today with a perfect tactical drive, as Lithuania’s
Edgaras Riabko recorded victory at the Grand Prix of Portugal.
A second-place finish in the penultimate round of the 2023
championship following his Grand Prix victories in Lithuania and Italy was
enough to see the Emirati driver add to his previous F2 triumphs in 2017, 2019
and 2021.
Adding to the celebrations for Team Abu Dhabi at Peso da
Régua in northern Portugal, Al Qemzi’s team-mate, Mansoor Al Mansoori, joined
him on the podium with a superb drive to third place after starting fifth.
After seeing pole position snatched away from him by Riabko
24 hours earlier, Al Qemzi was narrowly held off by the Lithuanian as they
battled from the start to gain the advantage at the first turn on the Douro
river circuit.
From that point onwards, Al Qemzi settled into his rhythm, content
to hold second place with his two closest rivals, Monaco’s Giacomo Sacchi and
Estonian Stefan Arand, well in arrears, and the final round to follow next
weekend.
Playing an important role on the day, Al Mansoori climbed
two places over the first four laps to take hold of third place, offering his
team-mate protection in the event of any threat from behind.
It failed to materialise, however, with Sacchi making a
premature exit through mechanical problems, while Arand was forced to settle
for fifth place.
Celebrating at the finish with Al Mansoori and the rest of
the Team Abu Dhabi line-up, Al Qemzi will now target a third victory of the
season in the season’s final Grand Prix on the Tagus river in Vila Velha de
Ródão next Sunday.
It was there two years ago that he recorded a second Grand
Prix victory in the space of eight days to wrap up his third F2 world title.
Al Qemzi had arrived in Portugal full of confidence, holding
a 16-point championship lead over Sacchi. His only worrying moment came in
yesterday’s free practice session when he flipped and damaged his boat.
It was repaired in rapid time by the Team Abu Dhabi
technicians, allowing Al Qemzi to qualify in a comfortable second place, on his
way to joining Sweden’s Erik Stark in the record books as a four-time F2 world
champion.
This victory also marked a remarkable achievement for Guido
Cappellini, who has delivered 17 world championship titles to the UAE capital
during his eight-year tenure as Team Abu Dhabi manager.
