Team Abu Dhabi Hopes For More Podiums In The Emirates!

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates -- December 9, 2008 -- The World Championship has been decided after American Jay Price led from start to finish and put his Qatar Team boat in the winners circle for the third time this season and now leads the championship with 105 points with one race to finish in the 2008 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating.

The real story this weekend will be the struggle for the prestigious runner-up position with three drivers in particular within five points of each other for the position. Ahmad Al Hameli of the Team Abu Dhabi group is searching for his first ever victory along with a statement for next season as he hopes to steer his BABA boat to another podium finish after coming away with a second place in Abu Dhabi last weekend. The 29 year-old from Abu Dhabi has four top three finishes this season including a pair of seconds along two other third's to sit with 55 points in the standings. Last years Rookie-of-the-Year is hoping to do what his older teammate Thani Al Qamzi had done two years ago in Sharjah winning his first race event in front of his countryman.

Right behind Ahmad is 2007 World Champion Sami Selio of the Woodstock Red Devil Racing Team just one point back and hoping to have the same success he's had before in Sharjah including last season's dream like finish by taking the title despite being 16 points back going into the event with 20 points available for the taking towards the winner. Sami has five straight top-5 finishes in the last five years and has failed to finish in only two of the eight previous races.

Swedish driver Jonas Andersson has had a real up and down season. He's won two of the three races he's finished but has also failed to finish three races because of mechanical reasons while crashing out in the other in Liuchou, China. The 33 year-old driver from Fruvi would love to end the season on an up note after having completed one event in the last three.

A dark horse for the title will be Australian David Trask of the Trask Brothers Racing Team who is trailing the rest of the pack by nine points and will need to probably win his first event of his career as well as had bad luck in turn envelope the other three drivers to have any hope of a runner-up finish at weeks end.

The Ninth Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah will take place on Friday afternoon at 15:45 local, on the Khalid Lagoon with 22 drivers from 12 different countries expected to race for the final event in the 2008 U.I.M. F1 event.