DOHA (Qatar): H1 officials at this weekend’s Oryx Cup UIM World Championship race in Doha Bay have decided to modify the racing timetable at the 11th hour to compensate for expected adverse weather conditions, which are expected to hit Doha Bay on Friday and Saturday.

Instead of just running practice and qualification heats on Thursday, the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and H1 Unlimited officials are now working together to stage qualifying heats tomorrow (Thursday) morning and Heats 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B on Thursday afternoon. That will give race officials two days to run Heats 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship race if the weather conditions deteriorate further.

“The forecast for Thursday looks good but Friday and Saturday are very iffy with a storm front containing high wind coming through the area,” said H1 chairman Sam Cole. “Rather than wait until Friday and hope conditions allow us to begin racing, we are going to take advantage of Thursday’s forecast and get some racing done on that day.”