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Qatar Team’s Shaun Torrente and Alex Carella finished second and fifth in Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, the penultimate round of the 2014 UIM F1 H2O World Championship, at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater yesterday afternoon. |
Frenchman Philippe Chiappe produced a stunning performance from his first ever career pole position to stay marginally ahead of Torrente from the start and seal a second career win and the outright championship lead - on his birthday of all days.
Torrente closed to within a second of the Frenchman on a couple of occasions, but Chiappe had the measure of the Qatar boat on the day by an eventual 6.57 seconds and the result means that the CTIC China team driver takes a three-point advantage to what promises to a thrilling three-way showdown for the title in Sharjah on December 19.
Carella was wedged in fifth place throughout the race and slips to second in the title race, a mere three points in front of his teammate Torrente and three behind Chiappe.
“That is racing,” reflected Khalid bin Arhama al-Kuwari, head of formula racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF). “It was not our day today. The course was tough. I told the guys that. We could see that from free practice. We tried our best. Now we have to go away, regroup and come back and finish first and second in Sharjah. If Alex wins in Sharjah, he is World Champion again. It will be an exciting race, for sure.”
Khalid Abdullah al-Kuwari and Mohamed al-Obaidly qualified second and third respectively behind Australian rookie Briney Rigby in the second UIM F-4S Trophy race.
Rigby led from start-to-finish to record her second win of the weekend, but it was a superb race for the Qatar Team with al-Kuwari reaching the chequered flag 6.30 seconds behind the youngster to claim second place and al-Obaidly shadowing him to the finish to put two ecstatic Qatari drivers on the podium.
Rigby now trails Mike Szymura by just 25 points with 40 at stake at the final race meeting in Sharjah.
“I am very happy for them. This is a superb result with the new boats and the new propellers,” added al-Kuwari. “They have been getting faster at each race and they deserve this result today. I am sure the first win is only a matter of time.”
GP of Abu Dhabi results (top five)
1. Philippe Chiappe (China CTIC)
2. Shaun Torrente (Qatar Team) +6.57sec
3. Ahmed al-Hameli (Abu Dhabi) +29.50
4. Sami Selio (Mad-Croc Baba) +32.50
5. Alex Carella (Qatar Team) +34.80
Overall standings (top five)
1. Philippe Chiappe (China CTIC) 50 pts
2. Alex Carella (Qatar Team) 47
3. Shaun Torrente (Qatar Team) 44
4. Sami Selio (Mad-Croc Baba) 24
5. Erik Stark (Nautica) 23
F-4S Trophy Race 2 result (top five)
1. Briney Rigby (Sweden)
2. Khalid A al-Kuwari (Qatar Team) +6.30sec
3. Mohamed al-Obaidly (Qatar Team) +11.46
4. Mike Szymura (F1 GC Atlantic) +25.88
5. Jan A Landsnes (Motorglass) +32.13
Overall standings (top five)
1. Mike Szymura (F1 GC Atlantic) 119 pts
2. Briney Rigby (Sweden) 94
3. Jan A Landsnes (Motorglass) 64
4. Mohamed Al-Obaidly (Qatar Team) 48
4. Khalid A Al-Kuwari (Qatar Team) 48
