To say that it’s been a tough year finding venues and local organisers to host rounds of powerboat racing world championships is perhaps an understatement. So, we can only imagine how loud the collective sigh of relief was at H2O Racing when the Sharjah International Marine Sports Club (SIMSC) agreed to host the final round of the 2022 F1H2O UIM World Championship.
Lavinia Cavallero Sr. Vice President of H2O Racing and for many years the main driving force behind the series said
We are incredibly happy to close our racing season in Sharjah. It’s a location that has always welcomed us with great enthusiasm and affection and which is now in the hearts of all the organisers, staff, and race teams. I would like to deeply thank our historical partner, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development, who have always believed in us.
For over twenty years now the Khalid Lagoon has often hosted the final round of the F1H2O World Championship and has seen some incredible title battles take place there along with several memorable events including Guido Cappellini’s fiftieth career victory in 2005 and then the following year his title chances ending with an electrical failure thus handing the championship to his rival Scott Gillman.
The Khalid Lagoon was the venue where the Sharjah Team driver Sami Selio won his first F1H2O World Championship back in 2007 and then again in 2010 and when he spoke to PRW he was pleased to be heading back there.
It’s great that we are ending the year at what is our home Grand Prix for me and the team it will bring positive pressure. The last time we raced there was back in 2019 and that was the first year that the Sharjah Team existed, so up until this December the only chance that the fans have had to see us race was via the web and on TV. The locals now know us and that will create a huge buzz for all of us.
Selio has been keeping himself busy with the Sharjah F2 Team and was pleased with his recent result at the UIM F2 Grand Prix of Poland.
For me to finish in fifth place was probably as good as I could have hoped for because those in front all had either brand new boats or the very latest version, whereas I was in the boat that we had set up for Ferdinand Zandbergen. It’s tough to adapt my style of racing from F1 to F2 but any time on the water is time well spent.
The F1H2O Grand Prix of Sharjah will take place in Khalid Lagoon from 16 to 18 December.
