LIUZHOU, CHINA: Qatar’s defending UIM F1 H20 World Champion Alex Carella led from pole position to the chequered flag and crushed the opposition in yesterday’s 39-lap UIM F1 H20 Grand Prix of China on Liuzhou’s Liu River.
The Italian led from a disjointed start and edged away from all his rivals, lapping all but three boats to reach the chequered flag 31.66sec in front of the impressive Swedish rookie Erik Stark and record his third successive win in Liuzhou. He now takes a 25-point championship lead to the next round in Qatar in mid-November.
Qatar team-mate Shaun Torrente started the race in 15th place after an engine change and fought back through the field to finish fourth overall behind Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi.
“Today was a big challenge for me,” said Carella.
“This was the first time racing in this boat for me. I started from pole and I just wanted to have a good race for the team and keep up our momentum. Everything was perfect.”
“I am really happy with this result,” said Khalid bin Arhama Al Kuwari, head of formula racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which runs under the presidency of Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani.
“Alex did another fantastic job and made it look easy. I suppose it is the secret of qualifying on pole and managing your own race from the front. Shaun did well to come back to fourth after starting the race in 15th. I am sure he would have been up there fighting with Alex if he had not had a problem on Sunday. Now we take a good lead to Doha for the next race.”
“My plan was to charge hard from the start, from 15th, to try and get through the middle of the field and try and make up as much time as possible and get through the first corner clean,” said Torrente.
“I was confident that I could make up the rest of the time towards the end of the race.”
The Qatar Team’s Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari and Mohamed Al Obaidly finished sixth and eighth overall in the second of the F-4S Trophy races. Germany’s Mike Szymura claimed pole position for the second day and went on to record his second win, with Australian youngster Rigby Briney in second place
Carella and Torrente lined up in pole and 15th position amongst the 18 boats at the start of the race on the 2.13km course on the Liu River after Torrente was forced to change the engine before the start.
Carella held his lead after a disjointed start and maintained his advantage through lap one, with Yousef Al-Rubayan moving ahead of Sami Selio to take second place. Duarte Benavente retired and Torrente climbed from 15th to eighth through lap two. Philippe Chiappe also withdrew after two laps.
Carella had extended his lead over Al Rubayan to 8.25sec after five of the 39 laps and Torrente maintained eighth place. The Italian was in superb form and he began lap eight with a 16.09sec advantage, although officials claimed that Al-Rubayan had jumped the start and would be awarded a penalty lap, lifting Selio back to second and Stark into third.
Carella’s lead was a massive 17.81sec through 13 laps and Torrente climbed to sixth once Francesco Cantando hit trouble and Al-Rubayan dropped back. At the halfway point, after 19 laps, Carella led Selio by 23.94sec.
Carella had lapped all but his six closest rivals by lap 25 and led the race by 27.20sec, but Torrente was not able to pass Al Qamzi and snatch fifth place.
Andersson was forced out with technical problems on lap 28 and this handed fourth place to Al-Qamzi and moved Torrente up to fifth.
Selio also hit mechanical trouble on lap 32 and the Finn slipped down the order. His problems moved Stark into second, Al-Qamzi into third and Torrente into fourth place with seven laps remaining.
The Qatar Team duo held station through the remaining laps and Carella reached the chequered flag 31.66 seconds in front of the impressive young Swede Erik Stark.Al Qamzi finished third and Torrente reached the finish in fourth. Stark’s collision with a turn buoy duly moved Al Qamzi and Torrente up to second and third.
Torrente bounced back to form following his mistake in qualifying on Sunday and set the fastest lap during Monday morning’s second practice session. The Qatar Team driver ran for 19 laps in his repaired boat and carded a quickest lap of 45.30sec. This was a mere 0.03sec faster than the time set by Ahmed Al Hameli of Team Abu Dhabi. Carella ran for just eight laps with a best of 45.64sec.
The next round of the UIM F1 H20 World Championship will be the Middle East Grand Prix in Doha Bay, Qatar, on November 15.
The Peninsula
