Team Rafa, going for the glory at Miami

Tommorrow, November 8th, the great spectacle of speed will take over the waters of Miami. The city will the scenary of the great final of the E1 Series, the first and only world championship of electrichal engines seepdboats, already known as the "Formula 1 of the sea".

After a vibrant season, the championship, organized by the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique), arrives to its end after seven intense stops at Jeddah, Doha, Dubrovnik, Maggiore's Lake, Monaco, Lagos and, finally, Miami. Every circuit has put the drivers' skills and the cutting-edge electrical boats' strenght to the test, in a mix of perfect innovation, sustainability and adrenaline. 

Nine teams will risk it all tommorrow in waters of the south of Florida. Amongst them, Team Rafa faces the great finsl with real optiones to getting th title, currently occupying the second position in the overall qualifying, at just three points behind the leader, the Team Brady.

The Team Rafa is formed by the Madrid-based Cris Lazarraga, first woman from Spain to be crowned as Europe's Jetcross champion (2019) and as world's runner-up of IJSBA that same year; and by the French Tom Chiappe, world's endurance champion and winner of the Rouen 24 Hours (2016), in addition to being the world champion of F4H20 (2018) and world champion of 4 times karting (2023). Together, they represent an explosive combination of talent, experience and ambition.

The team was born as a challenge for the Mallorcan ex-tennis player Rafa Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, who decided to bring his competitive spirit beyond tennis by turning into the owner of a team at the UIM E1 World Championship. Nadal boosts this project as an extension of his sporting and environmental values, with the objective of promoting clean mobility and restoring the marine ecosystems. His focus sets on a global tendency that has brought in figures such as Tom Brady, Will Smith, Virat Kohli, Didier Drogba or LeBron James, who have seen a unique opportunity to combine sport, technology and sustainability in the E1 Series, boosting a new competition model where the spectacle and environmental awareness sail hand-in-hand.

In the last date, which took place in Lagos last October 5th, the Team Brazil by Claure Group had their first victory in the championship, in a historical race that markes the debut of the contest on African land. That result kept the emotion at the highest peak, with Team Brady recovering the leadership of the World Championship and the Team Rafa standing just three points behind on the overall qualifying.

Cris Lazarraga's and Tom Chiappe's team signed a solid performance at Lagos, consolidating their position as one of the main candidates to the title and making it clear that they would arrive to Miami ready to fight until the last second for the world's crown.

Today, November 7th, the qualifying, where the order of departure for the tommorro's great race will be decided, will take place. Every thousandth counts: a good position in the grid can be the key to decide the title.

Everything is set for the sea to feel the emotion of speed... and for the world's champion of this edition to be decided in waters of Miami.