Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) confirmed the appointment of Italian racing legend Guido Cappellini as coach and technical director of Team Abu Dhabi’s F1 H20 racing team on Tuesday.
The record-breaking, 10-time UIM F1 H20 world champion, from Como in Italy, will also be responsible for the supervision of all racing equipment and on-event team operations after joining on a three-year contract. This move has been taken by Team Abu Dhabi to continue the ADIMSC’s forward-thinking strategy in line with the overall vision of the Abu Dhabi Government and plans developed by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to promote and develop sporting disciplines.
“My goal is to build a team for the future,” said Cappellini. “I am proud to be given this opportunity to be a coach and technical director at Team Abu Dhabi. I express my thanks to Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and relish the challenge of taking the team forward to achieve the goals and aims of the club.
“I have followed Team Abu Dhabi closely over the years and have always had great admiration for the operation and support for marine sport in Abu Dhabi. This has contributed to the emirate being an important hub in marine sport globally.”
He added: “The task ahead is not easy, but I love challenges and the task of training and preparing Team Abu Dhabi is a great challenge for me. I will give everything in order to build a strong team to compete at the very highest level. Team Abu Dhabi has a strong line-up with Thani Al Qamzi and Ahmad Al Hameli, in addition to all the current technical staff, and I will work with them to refine skills and continue our preparations.”
The ADIMSC also thanked Scott Gillman for more than 15 years of devoted service to the club and Team Abu Dhabi. Gillman will always be a part of the treasured heritage of the team, officials said, and the decision to replace him was purely based on a change in strategy and different path for the future.
Intensive testing and training will begin next week at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater. The first outing for Team Abu Dhabi with Cappellini at the helm will be the Grand Prix of Qatar in Doha Bay on March 12-14, where he will also oversee the UIM F-4S Trophy teams in action and Team Abu Dhabi’s entries in the UIM Nations Cup on March 10-11.
