Abu Dhabi fight back to finish fourth in France
rouen (france) — Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al Qemzi, Alex Carella, Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori produced a sensational fightback to finish fourth in the S2 class and sixth overall in the 54th 24 Hours of Rouen on France’s River Seine on Monday afternoon.
The team lost their chance of retaining their Class S2 title when Carella somersaulted the Team Abu Dhabi 35 DAC boat after 267 laps and the crew plummeted down the rankings while the boat was repaired. But that was the start of a stunning fightback through the field on the opening round of the UIM World Endurance Championship.
The race finished late on Monday afternoon and the team running out of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) was able to complete 678 laps after repairs
This is one of the most famous endurance races in the world and both our teams showed their pace and determination Salem Al Rumeithi
and missed out on a podium finish by just four laps. The overall race win went to the French Team Nollet crew that included triple UIM F1 H2O World Champion and fivetime Rouen winner Philippe Chiappe and his CTIC Shenzhen team-mate Peter Morin. Team Privilege 25 won Class S2 and finished second overall.
The Emirati quartet of Mohammed Al Mehairbi, Faleh Al Mansoori, Rashed Al Remeithi and Majed Al Mansoori raced in Team Abu Dhabi 36, with Majed replacing Rashed Al Qemzi at the last minute. The quartet actually led the race outright for a short period of time around the two-hour mark, but suffered a bitter setback after 86 laps when their UIM F4 and F2 reserve driver Al Remeithi was caught out by the spray coming from two boats running ahead of him and his boat blew over. The Emirati was not injured in the incident but the DAC’s left sponson was completely destroyed in the incident.
“This is one of the most famous endurance races in the world and both our teams showed their pace and determination and both were leading at one point in the early stages of the race,” said Salem Al Remeithi, general manager of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). “It’s disappointing that we were not able to retain the S2 class title, but the race was fantastic experience for everyone and gave our drivers the chance for valuable time in the race boats.”
Despite a delay of 40 minutes before the start, the Team Abu Dhabi boats began strongly and with just under two hours on the clock, VSI Racing was leading the 28-boat entry and heading class S1, while Team Abu Dhabi 36 was in a solid third overall and second in S2 behind New Star 2, having run for 44 laps on the Seine course. Team Abu Dhabi 35 was down in 10th, six laps behind, and eighth in the S2 class.
Team Abu Dhabi 36 actually snatched the overall lead for a lap or so soon afterwards before slipping behind again.