Team Abu Dhabi Announces Stand-In Driver Before Upcoming Grand Prix

Earlier this week, Team Abu Dhabi confirmed that driver Thani Al Qemzi will be unable to take part in this month’s Union Internationale Motonautique F1H2O World Championship race in China for personal reasons and that his place on the team alongside three-time F1 world champion and Florida native Shaun Torrente will be filled by his cousin and three-time UIM F2 world champion, Rashed Al Qemzi.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al Qemzi is going to be replaced in the F1H2O World Championship team’s No. 2 boat later this month in China by Rashed Al Qemzi. Photos courtesy Simon Palfrader/F1H2O

Scheduled for April 28-30, the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, China, is the second round of the F1H2O World Championship. In late February, Strømøy Racing team’s Bartek Marszalek of Poland won the weather-impacted Kopiko Grand Prix of Indonesia to take the early lead in the driver’s championship standings.

With Torrente and the decorated Emirati F2 driver in the mix, Team Abu Dhabi, which is part of the Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club, likes its chances in China. The team’s stand-in driver has competed in F1 before and he’s looking forward to the upcoming challenge. The 2017, 2019 and 2021 F2 world champ also has an F4-S world title to his credit in 2016, the same year he finished second overall in the F2 championship.

In addition, Al Qemzi won the UIM Endurance Championship in 2019 and 2021, and finished third in 2016. He also tackled the UIM H2O Nations Cup on three occasions. His team won the world championship in 2013 and finished sixth in 2015 and third in 2016.