Rashed in a hurry to reclaim lead in World Title Race
by Narayan Marar 28 Aug 00:08 PDT
Man in a hurry - Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Qemzi wants to regain the lead in the world title race in San Nazzaro © Narayan Marar
Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Qemzi is in a hurry to regain the lead in the 2024 UIM F2 World Championship and says he will settle for nothing less than victory in the Grand Prix of Italy at the weekend.
The four-time F2 world champion is aiming for a repeat of his win at San Nazzaro last year as he looks to wipe out the four-point advantage held by Lithuania's Edgaras Riabko following his third place on home territory in the previous round less than a fortnight ago.
Victory in Klaipeda put Sweden's Mathilda Wiberg level on points with Al Qemzi, who recognizes that he may face his biggest test of the championship yet as he pursues a record fifth F2 world crown, but remains confident that he can prevail.
"There's only one strategy for San Nazzaro, and that's to go for first place," said the Emirati driver. "I'm sure I can win there again. It's my favourite place for testing, and I'm going to give it everything I've got.
"It's going to be tough to take the championship. Riabko is going for it and Mathilda is very fast as well. I wasn't surprised to see her win in Lithuania. But I want the title and I believe in myself."
Following their dominant one-two finish in round two in Norway, Al Qemzi and Abu Dhabi team-mate Mansoor Al Mansoori both failed to reach the qualifying shoot-out in Lithuania, and had to settle for fifth and tenth places respectively in the Grand Prix.
"The weather was rough, and there were some big rollers, but there are no excuses," said Al Qemzi. "The most important thing for me was to score points in the championship and move on to the next round. So here we are, and we know what we need to do."
If he can retain his F2 crown this season he will move one clear of Sweden's four-time winner, Erik Stark, to become the most successful driver in the history of the championship.
The former Nations Cup and F4-S world champion finished ninth on his first F2 campaign back in 2016 before claiming the first of his world titles the following year.
The others followed in 2019, 2021 and again last year when Al Qemzi was crowned champion with one round to spare in Portugal, where back-to-back Grand Prix race weekends again bring the season to a climax next month.