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Cityscape of the Gulf bordering city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Image
Credit: Image Credit: E1 Series (2024) |
Long Time Coming Pays Dividends To UIM E1 World Championship's Team Brady In Inaugural E1 Race Round
All racing competition series begin with an idea, a form of a racing template or platform, and eventually place their calculations on the field of play and have at it. The E1 Electric Boat Racing League is no different.
After over two years (Racebird displayed at CES 2022) of development, concept evolution, formation of both the nature of the competition and the the team structure/formation, and setting of a schedule (that had delays) that includes seven event weekends throughout 2024.
Event weekend one - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - happened this last February 2-3, 2024 with qualifications on Friday February 2nd, and the race on Saturday February 3rd. An announcement was issued that the event was to be televised by both CBS Sports (North America) and ITV (UK/EU) as its latest television partners for this inaugural season. Sadly, after a quick search, no proof exists that LIVE or delayed broadcasts were made available. Any video that was posted in articles originating in Europe and the Middle East, at the time of this article development, was blocked from being shown in North America.
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The balance UIM E1 Series 2024 season race calendar:
11th - 12th May - Venice, Italy
1st - 2nd June - Puerto Banús, Marbella, Spain
29th - 30th June - Geneva, Switzerland
26th - 27th July - Monaco
7th - 8th September - Rotterdam, Netherlands
9th - 10th November - Hong Kong, China
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First, and only, time winners of the new E1 Series Racebird series.
Image Credit: Image Credit: E1 Series (2024) |
Inaugural race report - 3rd - 4th - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Tom Brady’s Racebird powerboat team claim inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race in Jeddah - Emma Kimilainen of Finland and Sam Coleman of Britain, pilots of the Team Brady entrant, on Saturday clinched the first round of the UIM E1 World Championship with a convincing victory in Jeddah in front of thousands of fans on the Red Sea.
The E1’s first Super Final featured eight team-owned sports and entertainment celebrities taking part in the waters of the Red Sea, among them Team Brady, Team Rafa, Team Miami, and Blue Rising, owned by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli.
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| Graphic of race central yacht harbor for the Racebird pits and support happens. Image Credit: E1 Series (2024) |
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| Race circuit as laid out in the Red Sea at Jeddah coastline. Image Credit: E1 Series (2024) |
On the final day of racing, the team owned by American Football legend Tom Brady staged an impressive comeback to beat day-one leaders Team Miami, owned by singer-songwriter Marc Anthony.
After the first Super Final race, Team Rafa had the lead, followed by Team Miami and Team Brady. The second Super Final race saw a lot more back and forth, as some spray blocked Team Rafa pilot Cris Lazarraga’s view, causing her to cut a corner, which resulted in a penalty in which the team had to choose between a 30-second penalty, or an additional “long lap,” (usually only one per race required).
With the top team penalized, Team Brady took the lead and didn’t let it go in race two. Combined with pilot Emma Kimilainen’s third place in race one, Sam Coleman led Tom Brady’s team to first place in the first E1 GP.
The moment we wrote Team Brady into the history books. 📚 #E1Series #TomBrady #TB12 pic.twitter.com/TxN0sTjM2m
— Team Brady (@e1teambrady) February 6, 2024
The winning margin was almost 20 seconds with Team Brady clocking in a time of 6.58.51.
Team Miami finished in second, while Kohli’s Blue Rising took third place.
Kimilainen and Coleman revealed their delight at the victory in the first round and looked forward to continuing their winning spirit in the upcoming round.
Asked by Arab News how Tom Brady reacted to their victory, Kimilainen said: “We’ve already had a message through from Tom and he’s super happy with the win. Both Sam and I are so incredibly proud to represent Tom and we’re pleased we were able to make history at E1’s inaugural race.”
Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman Al-Saud, chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation, said at the end of the race: “We are very happy to host the first round of the E1 series, and believe me it is a success.”
Meanwhile, Saudi rally driver Masahel Al-Obaidan, the lead pilot of Aoki Racing — which came in at seventh place — was happy to get her first experience of racing on water under her belt.
“It is been a great experience and I am so glad to represent my country,” she said.
Rodi Basso, co-founder and CEO of E1, said: “It is been a fantastic two days here in Jeddah and has surpassed our expectations.”
Meanwhile, Alejandro Agag, co-founder and chair of E1 said: “We have had an incredible weekend here on the Red Sea. It was a great race and hope the thousands who attended the race enjoyed the powerboat race.”
The UIM E1 World Championship will take place this May in Venice.
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| Image Credit: CBS Sports Network via electrek (2024) |
Championship standings following the Round 1 Jeddah GP results:
Team Brady – 20 points
Team Miami – 17 points
Team Rafa – 14 points
Blue Rising – 10 points
Sergio Perez E1 Team – 8 points
Team Drogba – 5 points
Aoki Racing Team – 3 points
Team Brazil – 1 point
[ht:
Arab News - Saleh Fareed]
Watch a replay of the #E1JeddahGP on YouTube👇
... notes from The EDJE
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