The world-renowned hotel, Villa d’Este, played host to the first day of the fifth race of the UIM E1 World Championship as Team Brady, owned by NFL icon Tom Brady, topped a breathless qualification session.
Against a stunning backdrop, team Brady pilots Sam Coleman and Emma Kimiläinen clinched pole position and set a benchmark for the remainder of the grand prix – overcoming Team Rafa in second place and Team Miami powered by Magnus in third.
The result further cements Team Brady’s dominance in the inaugural Championship as they remain the team to beat in the race to be crowned Champions of the Water.
The session set the league leaders up to secure an unprecedented fourth win of the season in five outings, however, the team has been handed a penalty for the Semi Finals on Saturday for unauthorised work on their foils. The team will have to complete an additional long lap in the Semi Finals as a consequence.
Team Blue Rising, owned by cricket superstar Virat Kohli, were disqualified from qualifying for an unauthorised exit from the racecourse, making their path to the Finals a challenging one.
Day one of the grand prix marked another star-studded outing for E1 as team owners Rafael Nadal and Will Smith, whose Westbrook Racing team finished fourth, watched on to support their pilots. The greats of sport and film will be hoping their fortunes change as they both look for their teams to secure their first win of the season.
