MEDIA INFORMATION
2024 UIM F1H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAMS MAKE FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR PERTAMINA GRAND PRIX OF INDONESIA
Thursday, February 29: Drivers, team members and officials have made the long journey to Sumatra and are now making their final preparations for this weekend’s Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia on spectacular Lake Toba.
Amongst those drivers experiencing the stunning beauty of the Lake Toba region for the first time is Rusty Wyatt, the Canadian racer who is the latest recruit to the Sharjah Team. He will run alongside Filip Roms and make his race debut under the management of four-time World Champion Scott Gillman this weekend.
The rookie said: “It has always been in my thoughts (to come to F1H2O). I’ve been watching it for many years and never really got into a race to take it all in. We had a relationship with Scott (Gillman) and that relationship has come together. It’s been in the work for a little while, so I am glad to seal the deal and here we are in the Sharjah Team. I am really excited.
“Mark Rothwell, I was talking to him when we put this whole deal together. It was very cool talking to him on line. He was the last Canadian to do it. It’s a lot of pressure, for sure. The whole team has been very welcoming. It’s been very easy to work with these guys. We are usually in the Moore hull but the DAC is a very beautiful boat, I feel comfortable in it already. We haven’t changed a lot. It’s already set-up to my liking, so we have got a long road ahead of us here..”
Ben Jelf is visiting the event for the second time with the F1 Atlantic Team and has been astounded by the warm reception given to all the teams and officials on arrival in the town of Balige. The Briton said: “The people here are so friendly. I am so happy to be back here. This is one of my favourite races. The team has been really busy. The boat has been stripped down again and we have been making improvements. The engine is having a refresh as well just to make sure we don’t have any reliability issues. So far, the weather has been great..”
Racing gets underway at 07.00hrs on Friday with one hour of free practice. The three traditional qualifying sessions then take centre stage at Balige from 10.30hrs.
Ends