Finland’s Sami Seliö announced at the ITB Berlin show this morning that his F1H2o team will be racing under the colours of Sharjah this season.

The emirate of Sharjah has been an enthusiastic supporter of the F1H2o series, having hosted the season finale for the last 19 years.

Sharjah, the third largest city in the UAE, join their fellow emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in backing a team.

Abu Dhabi has taken back-to-back World Championship wins with Alex Carella in 2017 and Shaun Torrente last season, while the Dubai backed Victory Team are still looking to find championship challenging form.

HE Ali Salim Al Midfa, Chairman Sharjah International Marine Sports Club commented on the new partnership:

We are very pleased to be the sponsor of a team in the prestigious UIM F1H2O World Championship.

Sharjah International Marine Sports Club has been established for four years and we work closely with Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority in organising many events in powerboat racing and jet ski racing and the next natural step was to support a team.

We know Sami very well he is a top competitor so we started discussion last year and now Sharjah Team is a reality and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to promote Sharjah as a top tourist destination at events all over the world.

We will also support the team in the F2 and F4-S championship and to encourage and introduce young drivers into the sport, with Sami, we will establish a training centre in Sharjah.

Seliö will once again have fellow countryman Filip Roms as a team-mate and the pair will be racing their Sharjah backed hulls at the season opener in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on 28-30 March.