Powerboats give a brief performance to the audience in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, March 30, 2019. Due to the strong winds and rough seas, officials announced on Saturday the cancellation of the opening round of the UIM Formula 1 World Powerboat Championship (F1H2O) in Dammam. (Xinhua/Tu Yifan)
DAMMAM, March 30, (Xinhua) -- Due to strong winds and rough seas, officials announced on Saturday the cancellation of the opening round of the UIM Formula 1 World Powerboat Championship (F1H2O) in Saudi Arabia.
Following two days of disruption to the schedule and having taken into consideration the safety of the racers and the boats, the organizers and officials at the UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that the race was officially cancelled due to the unpredictable and adverse weather conditions that had prevailed for the last three days in Dammam.
After the cancellation, the teams were given the chance to get out onto the water and give a brief performance to the audience.
Saudi Arabia was scheduled to host the opening round of the UIM F1H2O at the Dammam Corniche from Thursday to Saturday. However, adverse weather conditions forced the call off of the practice sessions in the F4-S and F1 categories on Thursday and the qualifying session on Friday.
Earlier on Saturday, the drivers went out for a scheduled 90-minute qualifying session, but that was halted after 30 minutes with the majority of drivers managing just a handful of laps.
After the disappointing outcome, the UIM F1H2O World Championship now heads to the Algarve resort of Portimao for the UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of Portugal on May 17-19.
