Whilst the eyes of the Formula 1 motoring world are set to turn towards Abu Dhabi next year, it is worth remembering that the F1 brand has long been afloat (sic) in the nation’s capital. What’s more, it is set to resurface in the UAE this month when the UIM F1 Powerboat Championship returns to the Corniche on December 5, and later to Sharjah on December 12.
Travelling at speeds of 225km/h on water and accelerating from 0-160km/h in just four seconds, you don’t have to struggle to imagine the spectacular crashes and close finishes which make F1 powerboating a compelling watch. It is a sport which thrives on speed and adrenaline; even its organisers describe it as being ‘like driving an F1 car full speed across a field’. It also has close ties to the capital, particularly since Team Emirates changed its colours to the heritage red of F1 Team Abu Dhabi.
Meeting those behind the team, including manager Scott Gillman and drivers Thani Al Qamzi and Ahmad Al Hameli, the trio are in an upbeat mood ahead of December’s races. But fortune has not favoured them this season. ‘Without a doubt, Thani is the top driver in F1 right now,’ declares Scott, a four-time champion himself. He finished third in last season’s standings, but has suffered repeatedly from mechanical troubles in 2008. ‘He’s led five races this year that he should have won, but we’ve had broken cranks, pistons, engines – the list goes on. If it wasn’t for bad luck he’d have none at all.’
Certainly the 49-year-old American retains a fatherly air when talking about his F1 brood, joking that ‘it’s like having your kids out there trying to win the Championship’. They’re certainly not the Waltons, but at 29, Ahmad is marginally the group’s junior, and despite only being in his second season, as Scott reminds me, currently stands fourth in the F1 rankings. However, whilst the Championship is all but assured to Jay ‘The Ragin Cajun’ Price, second place is still very much a three-way fight between Ahmad and the Scandanavians of Jonas Andersson and Sami Selo.
It might have been different had misfortune not also struck (literally) Ahmad in China, when another racer, Guido Cappellini, crashed into the UAE pair’s boats, wrecking their chances of finishing the race. I ask Ahmad about the danger aspect. He grins at his manager before answering: ‘[Laughs] I do many stupid, dangerous things, but I am OK with that. If you stay in the safety zone, you cannot do anything. It’s racing – you can’t be slow. If you crash, it’s not a mistake; it can happen in seconds, so you cannot know. I just push for a good position and don’t think about the crash until it happens.’
Thani and Ahmad have been racing together for 10 years, learning their trade first on jet skis, then in Formula 2000 and F2. Seeking to find the right description for his companion’s edge, Thani helps out his flagging teammate by chirping in the word ‘older’. The two laugh, but although Thani has been racing in F1 since 2002, at 30, he is only a year senior to his teammate. ‘He has the experience and a strong approach,’ Scott explains in his low American growl. He certainly has the steady gaze of a winner about him, and when Thani says that he loves being number one, you sense that he means it. But whilst he is the first to admit that there is always competition between the teammates, it is clearly of a brotherly nature: ‘We are the same team, we complement one another’, says Thani, to which Ahmad quickly responds: ‘If we can fight together, then we can get first and second.’
For those unfamiliar with F1 powerboating, the logistics of racing a powerboat differ starkly to those encountered when driving a car. ‘You are without sightlines and there are no signs,’ Ahmad explains. ‘You have to make the lines with your eyes, and the boat is just flying between the water and the air with no brakes. It is just pure adrenaline.’
Given that making U-turns at 100km/h produces a G-force the equivalent of multiplying the driver’s weight by 4.5 (F1 car drivers only endure 2.5), you can understand what he means. Certainly when the 24 drivers set off in Abu Dhabi on December 5, there will be plenty of high speed turns along the way as well as a firm local following.
‘The support is always good,’ says Ahmad. ‘The water is the same, but this venue is my home.’ For the two local Abu Dhabi drivers it is a true homecoming. The pair are desperate to win their home race, and sat before me in late November, dressed in their full kit, without a boat in sight, they certainly look eager to begin.
In the end, 2008 may well see Ahmad bring some silverware to the UAE, but in the meantime, the roar of the engines along the Corniche and the neck-breaking turns of the drivers are more than consolation. And as Scott outlines to me the plans for next season (mostly consisting of building a boat that actually works) and his charges banter cheerfully, it looks like Team Abu Dhabi are getting ready to make a big splash.
Abu Dhabi UIM F1 Powerboat Championship takes place on the Corniche on December 5, with time trials held on December 4
