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Dubai: The Abu Dhabi Team pairing of Thani Atiq Al Qamzi and Ahmad Al Hamli will be out to prove a point when the European leg of the UIM F1 World Powerboat Championship takes off in Portugal next week.
Both Al Qamzi and Al Hamli are just coming into their own following a disastrous opening round of the championship in Qatar earlier this month.
Al Qamzi who was the race leader in Qatar dropped out at the two-thirds mark after being hampered through the weekend with engine maladies.
Experience
His teammate Al Hamli also struggled during qualifying and also suffered the same fate to eventually drop out in 16th position to end with no points after one race in the championship.
The Abu Dhabi Team is led by recently retired American four-time World Champion Scott Gillman as the Team Manager.
And it will be Gillman's vast experience that the team will be looking forward to in an attempt to start gaining the points as the season progresses.
Gillman is the defending champion in the Portimao race and he had also won there in 2004.
The 10th edition of the Grand Prix of Portugal will be held along the challenging Arade River on May 3-4.
The 2008 campaign opened with a strong win at the Grand Prix of Qatar for Swedish driver Jonas Andersson leaving American Jay Price of the Qatar Team in second. But the early leaders will have to be wary about former multiple world champion Italian Guido Cappellini, who finished fifth in Doha.
Cappellini has a fantastic track record in Portugal, having gained four pole positions.
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