Dubai: Victory Team manager Scott Gillman wants his drivers to at least sign off on a winning note as they prepare for the final two rounds on the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championships next month.

The fifth round of the championship will be held in Abu Dhabi from December 6-8, while Sharjah will host the season finale at the Khalid Lagoon, from December 13-15.

“It now comes down to the last two races and it will be our focus to win at least one of the last two races,” Gillman told Gulf News.

“Then on, we can look forward to carrying this momentum into the next season,” he added.

Gillman, who won four F1 world titles in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2006, rued an uncharacteristic start to the season from the drivers in blue. “It’s a shame that both Shaun [Torrente] and Ahmad [Al Hameli] were among those who had problems with that first race especially after they qualified in first and second. No one is to be blamed for this as they use a chemical fuel in Europe and many teams had issues with it. So instead of a great start we had a bit of a rough start,” Gillman said.

“There have been some small unfortunate issues, but we also need some luck behind us. Ahmad is doing a good job as he has been consistent, and if he had not had the problem in the first race then he would still have been in the running for the championships,” the American added.

Perhaps making the difference in the future could be a bigger calendar. “The problem with only six races is that if you make one mistake then that puts you out of reckoning totally. Next year’s schedule shows eight or nine races, so for me this is much better as you can have an issue for one or two races and you can still be in the mix for the title,” Gillman observed.

The American was thrilled to have young Mansour Al Mansouri in the Victory Team set-up.

“Next year he could be in the F2 championships and within the next two years he could be promoted to F1. We are looking forward to training him and excited for a bright future for this young driver with us,” he said.

“One look at him [Al Mansouri] and you can see that he has the ability to run a boat. He has a good feel and this is what we need to see in upcoming drivers. I feel he really has it for a bright future in the sport,” Gillman added.