Abu Dhabi join UIM Class 1 fleet

It started as a rumour following them hosting a round of the UIM/WPPA World Class 1 Championship but we can confirm that the Abu Dhabi International Marine Club are joining the 2010 Series. The powerboat racing division of the club under the management of former World F1 champion Scott Gillman have purchased a very quick MTI catamaran which raced under the CTC banner and it will be renamed ‘Team Abu Dhabi’.

Full details of their line-up is still a bit scetchey as the go-ahead was only given in early January but we understand Randy Scism, former team manager of Dubai’s Victory team will throttle the craft in the early part of the season and Abu Dhabi’s star F1 pilot Ahmed Al Hameli will drive. Whether Al Hameli will continue as part of the F1 team remains to be seen but we know they had planned to introduce a third drive so perhaps he will take over Al Hameli’s seat. The craft will be powered by twin Mercury V8 engines. Al Hameli has considerable offshore experience after racing in the X class series and he also took the wheel of Sea Dubai in the last two Class 1 races of 2009.