Team Abu Dhabi’s Al Qemzi Finishes Seventh as Palfreyman Wins UIM F2 Opener in Brindisi

Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Qemzi commenced his UIM F2 World Championship title defense with a seventh-place finish at the Grand Prix of Italy in Brindisi. The season's opening race was marked by three yellow flag interruptions, disrupting Al Qemzi's progress after a challenging qualifying session. Al Qemzi's teammate, Mansoor Al Mansoori, faced technical issues, forcing him to retire after eight laps.

Victory went to Briton Matt Palfreyman, who made a triumphant return to the sport after several years. Italian Tullio Abbate and Lithuanian Edgaras Riabko completed the podium.

Starting in ninth and tenth positions respectively, Al Qemzi and Al Mansoori faced a tough race. Al Qemzi advanced to eighth early on, but Al Mansoori dropped to 12th and later to 13th before withdrawing from the race. Despite the challenging conditions and several interruptions, Al Qemzi managed to finish seventh.

Palfreyman led from the start, maintaining his lead despite the race's disruptions. Al Qemzi, unable to pass on the narrow, choppy course, remained entrenched in eighth until Sacchi's accident allowed him to move up to seventh in the final laps.

The morning warm-up session saw 17 of the 18 drivers participating, with Al Qemzi and Al Mansoori completing 19 and 12 laps respectively. Edgaras Riabko topped the timings with a lap of 42.585 seconds.

The UIM F2 World Championship continues with the Grand Prix of Norway in Tønsberg from August 2nd to 4th.