UAE teams look to bolster positions

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al Mulla aims to begin the defence of his freestyle title in the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship this weekend despite breaking his shoulder while preparing for the start of the new season in Kuwait.

The Emirati rider, world champion for the last two years after ten Grand Prix victories in succession, heads into Thursday’s official practice for the Grand Prix of Kuwait uncertain of whether he will be able to contest the first moto the next day.

“I will do my best to start and get as many points as I can,” said Mulla. “The pain is only about 30 per cent now and I want to give it a try. I was doing a back flip with one hand in training when my hand slipped and I fell on the ski and broke my right shoulder.”

After hospital treatment three weeks ago, Mulla was told he would need a month to recover, and kept his injury largely to himself in the build-up to the new season. If he recovers in time, Team Abu Dhabi will retain hopes of a triple world title success this season, despite the certainty that this will be a hugely competitive world championship.

With three-times Ski Ladies GP1 champion Emma-Nellie Ortendahl making her Team Abu Dhabi debut in Kuwait, Rashed Al Tayer hopes to repeat his opening round Grand Prix victory in Portugal last season while Salman Al Awadhi challenges in Ski GP1.

Meanwhile, Kevin Reiterer and Ali Al Langawi will be among the first representatives as world champions Victory Team’s open their campaign.

Three-time world champion Reiterer from Austria – who signed off 2019 with a second successive world with the Victory Team at the season-ending Grand Prix of Sharjah – will go all out for yet another title when he opens his quest in the Ski GP1 category at the opening round of UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship in Kuwait City from Feb.13-15.

Joining Reiterer to have a double shot at glory will be Ali Al Langawi — a proud winner of a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia — as he bursts on to the international stage in the Runabout GP1 Category.

After being a comparative novice going through the development process for the past two seasons,

Langawi’s presence is bound the bolster the presence of a world-class team. The new board of directors is confident that these two racers will continue flying the Victory Team flag on behalf of the UAE wherever they participate this season.

Reiterer sets a high standard in the Ski GP1 category following a focused drive towards excellence. Now into his sixth campaign on the international stage, the 26-year-old Austrian rider will be aiming for some more accolades.

For the last two seasons, the Reiterer-Chris Wilkinson combination has been amazing for the men in blue with the young Austrian winning all but two of the 19 motos, and six out of the seven Grand Prix that he has raced in.

However, embarking on a fresh campaign Reiterer will have to be wary of challengers such as Daniel Svae Andersson, Stian Schjetlein, Ulrik Bernsten, Barnabas Szanbo and Axel Courtois. “Winning breeds a winning mentality and I am ready to launch yet another season in the Victory Team colours,” Reiterer stated.

“The ultimate goal of any racer is to head out on the water and win as many races as possible. As a team we have done well so far, and I don’t see any reason why we should be wavering from these goals,” he added.