Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national airline, is continuing to align itself with the very best in international sports competitions with its sponsorship of the 13th Annual F1 Powerboat Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.
The Grand Prix is being held at 15:00 hours this Friday, 9 December 2005, and could see Italian Guido Cappellini, lead driver of the Tamoil Team, clinch the 2005 UIM F1 World Championship title.
“These powerboats are traveling at speeds of over 200 kilometers an hour, and so it is quite appropriate for Etihad Airways – the world’s fastest growing airline – to be a lead sponsor for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,” said Raymond Korban, General Manager, UAE and South Gulf, Etihad Airways.
Recently Etihad Airways also announced its sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship when the world’s best golfers, including Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia and John Daly will compete in the UAE’s capital in January next year.
The UIM F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will see 14 drivers of different nationalities racing round Abu Dhabi’s Corniche breakwater circuit for a breathtaking 45 minutes.
“These F1 drivers all aim to be the absolute elite in their field, and here at Etihad Airways we have exactly the same goals of being the world’s best airline – we just try to ensure a smoother ride for our guests,” concluded Korban.
Inaugurated in 1981, the F1 Powerboat international competition is comparable to F1 car racing. Drivers will begin competing for qualification on Thursday 8 December, which will decide the pole position and formation of the grid ready for race day on Friday.
Guido Cappellini has captured the title 8 different times in the last 12 years and has won three of the first four events of the season. With an impressive 25.5 point lead ahead of second place it looks very probable the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will see him claim his ninth world title.
It would be the fifth occasion Cappellini has claimed the world title in the UAE’s capital since he first came to the Grand Prix back to 1993.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is the world’s fastest growing airline and flies to 20 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.
Together with its divisions Etihad Holidays and Etihad Crystal Cargo, Etihad Airways is changing the way people see the world.
For more information about this award-winning aviation group, please visit www.etihadairways.com.
