The main competitors in the top three positions at the moment contain the two Jelf brothers, Colin Jelf, last years F2 World Champion with a lead of 18 points at forty five and Owen Jelf his older brother who is in third place with twenty seven points. It will be a strong battle between Ugis Gross and Owen to see who will end up second and third as the second place driver, Johan Andreessen from Sweden is not present in this final race.

“The marketing and the media setup for all the F2 World Cup races has been successful and we have a strong television distribution for all of the races, worldwide. The concept and the materials for season 2009 will be very strong and we are working to design new digital media and branding for the new season”. said Abdul Salam Fairooz.

“We had a very successful campaign to retain the World promoter status for the United Arab Emirates at the UIM General Assembly in Australia last month and we are very happy to move forward with our exciting plans for developing the sport”. said Mr. Fairooz.

‘’We always are made to feel welcome in Kota Kinabalu and every time we visit is brings some new discoveries for our F2 World Cup group,’’ said Abdul Salam Fairooz, F2 World Cup promoter.

Younger racing driver from Italy Alex Carella with his Steeltrade Team, jumped up to joint fifth place alongside Frenchman Jean Baptise Thomas Normandis Team, with 20 points a piece. Alex broke his run of bad luck in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when he won the GP race outright.

Colin Jelf leads the championship table with forty five points 18 points ahead of older brother Owen with twenty seven points.

More information from the local organiser can be found at www.powersportevents.com.my

   Gold Coast, Australia, Sunday, 2nd Nov - At the annual UIM (Union International Motonautique) World Congress, International council members voted by a vast majority to award a Dubai based promoter the rights to organise the F2 World Championship of powerboating. There were several countries involved in the bidding process and it has been a long week of deliberation for the council members.

UIM President Dr Raffaele Chiulli commented, 'It has been the most professional, multi dimensional and strategic selection process as we had so many factors to decide upon. I am very pleased we have reached this professional conclusion'.

 'This is a fantastic result for the United Arab Emirates, said Promoter Abdul Salam Fairooz, Managing Director of Formula World Sports.

 'I have been supported by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of Abu Dhabi and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai and my Gold Sponsor GGICO, who have all supported me in my attempt to win this bid for the UAE".

Mr Fairooz officially has won the rights to promote the UIM F2 Powerboating championship worldwide, something he has been doing for the past five years in the Middle East and Africa regions with many successful races in United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Malaysia. He has also been involved in the sport for almost fifteen years both as a driver and as a promoter.

  The F2 World Championship is the pinnacle of powerboating and includes various high profile sporting countries, competitions attract teams from all over the world. Every year new host countries line up to be part of the annual championship that includes various additional water festivals and watersport races as part of special events and tourism programmes.

 'I would like to thank Mr Tony Walsh, President of the Australian Powerboat Federation for such warm hospitality in the beautiful country of Australia as a host venue for the 81st UIM World Congress', commented Fairooz. This has been a fantastic trip for me, I have also had the opportunity to meet with many new interesting people and growing economies who are supporting me to host future F2 Grand Prix races, I am extremely proud to have the opportunity to demonstrate UAE's committeemen to world class sporting events, he concluded.

 The F2 World Championship series certainly looks promising as there are at least 6 new countries all excited at the prospect of enjoying this exciting spectacle.

 The final round of the 2008 F2 World Championship takes place on Dec 14th in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

Italian Alex Carella takes first place in the F2 World Cup Jeddah, SaudiArabia

Jeddah-Thurs 8th Oct: A blistering hot day filled with Saudi sunshine bathed golden boy Alex Carella, team Steeltrade, in his first win of the World Cup season in Jeddah. The third round Grand Prix of the UIM F2 World Cup of powerboating was bursting with excitement and fresh challenges for the majority of the drivers when race day finally arrived. 

A last minute adjustment to the race schedule saw drivers start the race at 4.30pm rather than the 2.30pm planned start. After returning to the jettyafter the parade lap, a few of the leading teams suffered engine start problems, Colin Jelf, Ugis Gross, Owen Jelf and Johan Osterberg were the last group to clear the start pontoon. This was the start of one of the most challenging races for reigning F2 World Champion Colin Jelf, racing under the colors of newly formed SAIF (Saudi Arabia International Formula) team.

This was a really challenging race for me and I don’t remember having to drive this hard for many years, Im usually at the front commented Jelf.

Taking advantage of his 3rd place qualifying position, with Colin Jelf and Ugis Gross still trying to start engines, young rising star Alex Carella in his BABA designed boat had no such starting issues and could not be caught. Alex had suffered in earlier World Cup rounds races in Portugal and Riga earlier in the year when his engine had failed him, he proved today that he is worthy of taking points away from older and more experienced drivers. Alex like all drivers after the race was feeling the symptoms of heat exhaustion, having given his all to maintain his lead from lap one.

Commenting on the engine start failures was UIM Commissionaire, Gordon Sutherland. I took the decision for the normal start as there was no reason for a rolling start, in light of safety and good entertainment the normal start procedure was followed, as for the engines failing to start, thats racing, as they say

Lazlo Kovacs, Formula Team Hungary, unfortunately was rammed by another boat in the mêlée at the start, his boat was damaged so badly he had to retire in lap three in this 35 lap race.

Michael Nylund, Team Red Devil from Finland, had a fantastic start as a rookie to the F2 World Cup series, he maintained a steady second position

throughout the race chasing Alex. Michaels team manager is Semi Selio, reigning F1 Powerboat Champion and no doubt he has been receiving expert tuition as a young rookie to this championship.

In laps 22 to 29, Colin Jelf had carved through the field of drivers to a one second gap on Alex Carella however by this time he was being slowed by back markers who made the overtaking extremely challenging. Five laps from the end of the race Colin had clean water to make up his time but it was not enough to catch Alex and had to settle for second place overall.

Rick Haakonsen, had maintained a steady 3rd position all the way through till the last lap of the race when disaster struck and his power steering failed, fortunately he was one lap up on his nearest rival, Johan Coenradi, and maintained his fifth place in the championship with a seven point gain in this third round.

His Highness, Prince Abdulla bin Saud, Patron of the event and Chairman of the local Saudi Grand Prix committee was in attendance throughout the race weekend, taking an avid interest in the boats and the preparation of the event. He greeted every driver in there pit areas and welcomed them to Jeddah. After the race, podium trophies were gifted to the winning drivers by HH Prince Abdulla.

World Cup title Golden Sponsors GGICO, were represented by two special VIPs to attend the race from Dubai. Mr Rajesh Lewis Michael, and Mr Alaa El Shoura GGICO/National Lube. Mr Michael was the first VIP to take his seat in the specially prepared two seater powerboat with 3 times world champion Frode Sundstal.

Earlier in the day, GGICO VIPs were given a tour of the pit garages and introduced to all teams and drivers stopping to make enquiries on engine performance and boat design. Its truly amazing for us to see this type of sport up so close and have such a good tour to see how the engines perform and interact with the drivers so closely said Mr Michael.

Final top three race results, first Alex Carella, second Colin Jelf, third Michael Nylund, 

A new Saudi Arabian Powerboat racing team is born.

The KSA Ministry of Tourism has given authorization for the set up of a new Powerboat racing team to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The team was officially unveiled today with four new recruits to the team, all hoping for the chance to race for the new SAIF team, Saudi Arabian International Formula.

The team will be managed by Colin and Jenny Jelf the husband and wife team who aim to lend some of there many years of experience to the training and education of the young Saudi team. Colin is the reigning F2 World Champion and his family together with his brother Owen and father Ted, have many years of experience in racing and engineering for the Formula boats. Colin will act as driver training manager and oversee the development programmes in his native United Kingdom. Jenny Jelf

The team manager of the Saif team, Mr. Loai Bafageeh, a marketing manager from Jeddah, made his intentions clear to make the best possible representation for the Kingdom in International powerboat racing.

“As a team we are honored to have been given this opportunity and we will do our best to make Saudi Arabia proud and we look forward to a great future together with the team”. Said Jenny Jelf

Ms Hadil Bougany, who runs a successful advertising agency in Jeddah is backing the  SAIF team. “I am happy to see this new team, since last years F2 races we were thinking about starting a team, and now we have authorization to make go ahead” she said.

“This is first time for our country and a great opportunity for our team as we are now third Arab nation to help to promote this sport” she continued.

Seventeen drivers from fourteen countries will take part in the third round of the F2000 World Cup of Powerboating in Jeddah for the second year running.

Colin Jelf is second in the championship with 57 points followed closely by Ugis Gross of Latvia with 52 points. Owen Jelf, Colin’s older brother, is close behind with 51 points.

The F2000 World Cup Grand Prix race takes place in Ubhor Corniche, Jeddah on Wednesday 9^th at 2.00pm, with practice and qualifying races taking place on Tuesday 7^th, throughout the day.

F2 World Cup powerboat teams arrive in Jeddah today for the third round of the 2008 World Cup. The races will take place in the beautiful setting of the Obhur Corniche in Jeddah.

Over 250 team members and support personnel will descend on the city to find the most exciting and exhilarating Water Festival, aswell as the powerboat races taking place.

The opening ceremony of the 2nd annual Obhur Tourism Festival began on Saturday evening with fireworks lighting up the north Jeddah skies.

Various activities are lined up for the weeklong festival at Obhur with the highlight of the festival being the Formula 2000 boat race.

Fourteen countries will be represented here in Jeddah, and nations such as Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Kuwait, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Various exciting supporting events will take place including, Jet Ski competitions, water skiing, rowing and fishing among other activities for children such as face painting and circus performers.
Being held under the auspices of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the festival has the support of Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed.

The event coincides with the Eid Al-Fitr holidays. “Jeddah is a tourist destination, and hosting such festivals and functions further puts the emphasis on attracting tourists. This plays a very important role in establishing the necessary investment support in the region,” said Ziad El-Chaar, international general manager of DAMAC Properties, Festival sponsor.

With the families of citizens and residents, both local and from other parts of the Kingdom, crowding the Corniche, Jeddah remains the most popular destination among domestic travelers due to its nearness to Makkah and Madinah, and also because of its holiday attractions that include the scenic beaches and water sports on the Red Sea

The programme for the F2 World Cup races wil commence on Tuesday Oct7th where the boats will go through Time trials at mid day followed by Speed records and Match races in the afternoon at 3.30pm.

HH Prince Abdullah bin Saud, President of the Ubhor Festival and Abdul Salam Fairooz, F2 Promoter, held a press conference in Jeddah to officially announce the plans for the coming tourism Festival in Ubhor, Jeddah.

"The 2008 Ubhor Festival will be bigger and better than last year, it will be more exciting and spectacular for all the visitors" said HH Prince Abdulla bin Saud.

"We gained a lot of new experiences from last year and we want to put on a bigger show for our spectators". he continued.

The conference was held in the presence of Mohammad Al Amree, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism in Jeddah, Ebrheem Badr Aldeen, Manager of Administration of Culture and Tourism, JCCT, and Mohammad Alyamee, Manager of Public Relations in Jeddah.

HH Prince Abdullah bin Saud announced, "The festival will commence on second of 2nd of October (Eid al Fitr), it will include the F2 World Cup championship of Formula 2000 speed boats as a main attraction, the Grand Prix race will be held on the 8h of October".

In addition, the festival committee has organized Jet-ski races, Parades, Traditional boat displays and firework displays. There will also be a safe diving event and accompanying entertainment activities for children such as cartoon characters, clowns, karate demonstrations, a paragliding stunt show and a hunting show.

HH Prince Abdullah bin Saud, added that, "The festival will be attended by many TV channels and media. Saudi Sport TV channel have prepared a special program about the festival and have assigned a large camera team to cover all the different events".

Arab Radio and TV (ART) have also prepared to broadcast special programs to covering and promote the festival and the F2 World Cup Championship. The event will be covered extensively in national and International press.

Abdul Salam Fairooz, Promoter of Formula 2 Speed Boat Championship said that, "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can organize very good International water sport's events and can be one the most important places for developing these events".

He praised the role of HH Prince Abdullah bin Saud and the other partners in organizing such a popular festival. Fairooz clarified that KSA have some of the most suitable waterfront coastal areas in the world, which have beautiful long, clean beaches and specialized water sport clubs.

Fairooz congratulated the authorities in Saudi Arabia in supporting the new Saudi race team that will represent Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the speed boat race and advised them to begin the process of establishing the Saudi Water Sports in the near future".

"There are 18 participants from many International countries attending the race, from UAE , Kuwait, Portugal, UK, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and many other countries".

"There will be 30 thousands dollars awarding for the first 10 participants in the race and we all look forward to this very exciting Festival and Championship Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia" he concluded.

Ends....

Photo captions - Prince Abdulla bin Saud informs media on Ubhor Festival

Formula World Sports today announced a new Gold Sponsor partner for season 2008 / 2009. Gulf General Investment Co. GGICO, a Dubai based conglomerate, will be the series Gold Sponsor for the, Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah on Oct 7^th and the World Cup final Grand Prix of Malaysia in Sabah on Dec 14^th.

FWS promoter Abdul Salam Fairooz said “GGICO’s sponsorship offered a number of benefits both for the company and the sport including the sports presence both locally and internationally”.

“Thanks to this alliance, a number of youths worldwide will have the chance to develop and polish their athletic talents. Also the UAE will enjoy strong and honorable representation in this sort of International arena and hosting countries will enjoy outstanding media coverage” he continued.

Saudi Arabia enjoyed the highest spectator visitors last year with over 50,000 visitors and the highest media coverage through satellite channels such as ART, Saudi Sport, Dubai Sport, Bahry TV, Sharjah TV and many others.

GGICO Deputy Managing Director, Mohammed Ali Al Sari said “GGICO are pleased to return to the world of powerboat racing after its initial sponsorship of the first Formula 2000 competition held in Sharjah”.

“With this event we are able to be part of something really special, bringing the world of power boating to the UAE, and helping to bring the UAE to the rest of the world; acting as both participant and host”, he continued.

Also present to celebrate the announcement were HH Prince Abdulla bin Saud Al Saud, Chairman of the Jeddah organizing committee of Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia; Mr Zachary Aman, Chairman of the Grand Prix of Malaysia and Guido Capellini nine times F1 powerboat World Champion and ambassador to FWS, Formula 2000 World Cup.

The deal celebrates Gulf General Investment Co’s 35yr anniversary as UAE conglomerate engaged in a number of diversified activities including, Manufacturing and Industrial, Real Estate, Development, Insurance, Hospitality, Retail, Trading, Financial brokerage and Transport and Services.

Emirates Lube Oil Co. (ELCO) a wholly owned subsidiary of GGICO, is one of the largest and leading manufacturers and marketer of Lubricants in the GCC. ELCO’s brand “NATIONAL LUBE” has very high brand value and is being exported to over 70 countries. The company has regional offices across the U.A.E, India and African continent and Oman.