Team Abu Dhabi heads directly from Harbin in China to the middle of France to run Rashed Al-Qamzi and Rashed Al-Tayer in two boats at this weekend’s UIM F2 Grand Prix of France on the Saône river in Mâcon.

The team running out of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) has entered three of the five rounds of the prestigious F2 series so far this season in Campione d’Italia, Tønsberg and Zarasai. It has been a valuable learning experience for both Al-Qamzi and Mohammed Al-Mehairbi, with both taking top 10 finishes at the last round in Lithuania and Al-Qamzi also finishing ninth in Norway.

Al-Tayer steps into the breach to replace Al-Mehairbi in France this weekend, as the Team Abu Dhabi 35 and 36 boats are prepared for further European race action.

Salem Al-Romaithi, assistant general manager of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) is looking forward to the weekend;

This race will be another exciting chapter in what has already been a thrilling and successful season for all our drivers across several racing disciplines. We know that the competition is very strong in F2 and that’s why our drivers need to compete against the very best.

Sweden’s Erik Edin leads this year’s UIM F2 World Championship, despite missing out on the win in Zarasai recently and eventually finishing fifth. The Swede is tied on 55 points with fellow countryman Pierre Lundin and the pair are 23 points ahead of third-placed Rupert Temper of Austria.

England’s Matthew Palfreyman is fourth on 30 points and victory in Lithuania has lifted Latvian driver Uvis Slakteris to sixth behind Italy’s Alberto Comparato. Al-Qamzi holds 14th position after missing two rounds of the seven-race series in Peurunka and Tvedestrand earlier in the year.

Mâcon is a small city in east-central France and lies on the western bank of the Saône river in the department of the Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy. It is situated 65 kilometres from Lyon and 400km from Paris.

The race is being organised by the Yacht Motor Club Mâcon under the auspices of the Fédération Francaise Motonatique. Qualifying and practice session take place on Saturday and the next round of the UIM F2 World Championship fires into life on Sunday afternoon.