DOHA, Qatar - Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 - Team Qatar has confirmed a new driver pairing for the Qatar Grand Prix, rounds 11 and 12 of the UIM F1 World Championship. British racer Malcolm Goodman will partner defending World Champion Jay Price in the team line-up for the two Doha races this weekend (November 27-28).
Team Qatar’s Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), was forced to make the late change to his driver line-up following a recent accident in Australia.
Craig Bailey replaced the injured Andy Elliott in China last month, but Bailey was injured in the third race of the annual Bundy Thunder Powerboat Classic in Bundaberg, Australia, recently and was taken to hospital with back injuries. The 47-year-old sustained fractured vertebrae and severe shoulder bruising and was obviously ruled out of the Doha races this weekend.
“The second Qatar seat seems to a curse this season,” admitted Al-Kuwari. “First we had the accident for Andy Elliott in Russia and then we heard that Craig had been injured racing in Australia. We were recommended the name for a replacement driver at the last minute and we are delighted to welcome Malcolm Goodman to the team for our home races in Qatar.”
Elliott will be present in Doha to assist with the running of the Dragon boat for Goodman and the Qatar Team, as he recovers from the four broken vertebrae, two broken ribs and a collapsed lung he sustained in a heavy Saint Petersburg crash in August. The plan is for Elliott to return to the Qatar Team for the 2010 season.
“I really wish I was racing myself in Doha,” admitted Elliott. “In 40 years of racing this has been my only serious injury and I wanted to make a good showing in front of the Qatar team and the local sponsors. But that must now wait until my back is repaired. Malcolm is a very competent racer with good national experience in the UK and I am sure he will do a good job in Doha.”
Goodman, from Prescot in Merseyside, has extensive experience of racing F2 boats has also tackled the RYA S2000 National Championship. He is no stranger to high-speed drama either, the 27-year-old British driver surviving a horror crash himself at Carr Mill Dam in the UK in July.
Goodman made his debut in the Junior J250 British Championship at the age of 12 back in 1994 and has since achieved success in the OSY 400 British National and World Championship. In 2000, he set the British OSY 400 Hydroplane speed record and claimed the O-250 hydroplane record two years later. In 2006, he earned the prestigious O-250 World Hydroplane speed record and has been tackling the Formula 2 British National Championship since 2006.
“I have raced boats for as long as I can remember and is has been my life-long dream to race on the Formula One circuit,” said Goodman. “I am proud to have been given this opportunity by the Qatar Team to race against such world class drivers that I have admired for many years.”
The Qatar Grand Prix is being organised by the QMSF under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani. Documentation and team registration will take place on Thursday, with practice, time trials and two races taking place on Friday and Saturday.
For further information: Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).
Be In the Know – With F1 H2O!
