Abu Dhabi begins the time challenge in the Formula 2 World Championship

Abu Dhabi Team boats will face a tough test on Saturday, by entering the best time race, in the first and opening round of the Formula 2 World Championship, which is being held in the Italian city of Brindisi, with strong participation from 25 boats from around the world, in a mission to reach the strongest time.

The competition begins with attempts to reach the fastest time in the competition, in order to record a strong start in the main race of the round, and achieve the best times. The boat “Abu Dhabi 1”, led by Rashid Al Qamzi, begins its journey to defend the championship title it achieved last season, by testing the time in the Brindisi round, in addition to the strong participation of the boat “Abu Dhabi 2”, led by Mansour Al Mansouri.

The Brindisi round is the first round of the championship this season, which is scheduled to be held over 5 rounds extending until next September.

The speed qualifiers start with the early morning briefing for the competitors, followed by the rest of the competition throughout the day, which starts with the free trials for the participating boats at the beginning, followed by the best time qualifiers, which are divided into three categories, concluding with the last category, and witnessing the participation of 10 boats to achieve the best time in the race.

It is worth noting that the person with the best time has the advantage of starting from an advanced position in the main race of the round, which starts on Sunday.

For his part, the racer Rashid Al Qamzi, star of the Abu Dhabi team and captain of “Boat 1”, expressed his great determination and readiness for the current season, to begin the journey of defending the title that he achieved for the fourth time in the 2023 season, and said: “I have a difficult task in defending the title, and I must give my best in the opening round, so that I can record a strong start this season.”

Rashid Al Qamzi added: “Before coming to Brindisi, we underwent intensive training on a track similar to the race track, and we recorded high numbers, and everything in the training indicates that we will achieve stronger numbers during the round.

Rashid Al Qamzi stressed that the ambitions of the rest of the teams and participants will be to achieve the same goal, which is to compete for the title from the beginning. He said: “Certainly, all the teams and boats will do their best in the opening round, and I am ready to face the challenge. I always love challenges, and I will continue to prove that I am the best through the opening round.”

It is worth noting that Rashid Al Qamzi has previously won the championship title 4 times, starting in the 2017 season, and the achievement was repeated in 2019, 2021 and 2023.