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KOPIKO, INDONESIA / GULF TIME
Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President of the UAE Marine Sports Federation and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club, met the Emirati teams participating in the first round of Formula 1 World Championship, held in the city of Kopiko on Lake Toba, Indonesia.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan visited Abu Dhabi team, the holder of the title, Sharjah team, and Victory team, to provide moral support.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan witnessed the launch of the race, which was attended by His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, in the midst of a crowd of 100,000 spectators on the shores of Lake Toba.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan applauded the potential of the Emirati teams participating in what is considered to be the toughest international marine competition. Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan was accompanied by His Excellency Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Indonesia, and Salem Al Rumaithi, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club.
The first round held two races. The first race was held in slightly difficult climatic conditions as the weather was unstable and the winds were intense, while the second race was cancelled.
In the first race, Poland’s Partek Marchaik came in first, Sami Celio of Sharjah team second, and Victory’s team Eric Stark third, while Thani Al Qamzi finished fifth.
The first race witnessed the victory of Abu Dhabi Boat 1, driven by Sean Torrente and came in the first place. However, he was disqualified for a full lap due to a false start resulting his ranking to drop to the ninth place. The second race was cancelled later due to severe winds and high waves. The organising committee preferred to settle down with the results of the first race.