Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi Secures Pole Position for Grand Prix of Italy

San Nazzaro, The Gulf Observer: Rashed Al Qemzi of Team Abu Dhabi has positioned himself to regain the lead in the 2024 UIM F2 World Championship by securing pole position for the Grand Prix of Italy.

In a strong showing for Team Abu Dhabi, Mansoor Al Mansoori qualified in second place after winning the Q1 and Q2 sessions and initially leading the Q3 shoot-out before being narrowly overtaken by his teammate.

Al Qemzi, the defending F2 world champion and a four-time titleholder, is just four points behind the current leader, Lithuania’s Edgaras Riabko, who will start the race from fifth position. Sweden’s Mathilda Wiberg, the winner of the previous round in Lithuania and currently tied with Al Qemzi on points, will start from third place, just behind the two Abu Dhabi boats.

This sets the stage for a thrilling race day in San Nazzaro, as the battle for the championship heats up with only two rounds remaining in Portugal next month.

Al Qemzi, who triumphed in San Nazzaro last year on his way to his fourth F2 title, demonstrated his intent by setting the fastest time in this morning’s practice session, while Riabko and Wiberg finished in eighth and third places, respectively. Al Mansoori, after setting the fifth-fastest time in practice, took the lead in Q1 and recorded the fastest lap in Q2 to advance to the six-boat shoot-out.

In the final qualifying session, Al Mansoori set the pace with the best early lap but was ultimately edged out by Al Qemzi, who now holds the advantage as they head into tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Italy.