Qatar’s Alex Carella is determined to make up for last weekend’s bitter Qatar disappointment in Abu Dhabi this weekend. RIGHT: Qatar Team’s Khalid bin Arhama Al Kuwari (left), Head of formula racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), with series leader Shaun Torrente.
ABU DHABI: The Qatar Team’s Shaun Torrente heads to the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi this week with a seven-point lead over team-mate Alex Carella in the 2013 UIM F1 H2O World Championship.
Despite a protest being lodged over an incident that occurred during his dramatic race victory in Qatar on Saturday afternoon, race officials decided that the win should stand.
The Qatar Team driver’s first GP win was made even sweeter when his lead at the top of the points’ standings grew from four to seven points when Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe was later disqualified from third position for hitting a turn buoy on the Doha Bay course.
There is no disputing that Torrente was outraced by Carella on Doha Bay and he would have finished second had the Italian’s engine not let go near the end.
But Torrente is the only man in the paddock at the moment capable of matching and beating the Italian and the duo should enjoy another sensational Qatar Team showdown on the Abu Dhabi course off the Breakwater on Friday afternoon.
“We have been winning in Abu Dhabi consistently over the last few years and I am confident that we can achieve the 1-2 finish that slipped away last weekend in Qatar,” 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.
“Brendan (Power) and the team have worked to find the cause of the problems that affected Alex’s engine and we will be ready to go in Abu Dhabi. Whoever wins on Friday, I am sure it will be a Qatar Team driver. The championship is now wide open and we, as a Qatar Team, are happy that we are leading the points with a 1-2.
“I was surprised to see that Phillipe Chiappe was disqualified after the race in Qatar, but I was not surprised to see that Shaun’s victory stood after the protest. It was obvious to me that it was a fair win and we were delighted that he could get his first Formula 1 success on the board.”
Qatar’s Khalid Abdullah Al Kuwari and Mohammed Al Obaidly represented the Qatar Team in their home event in the F-4S category for the Eurofin Tophy on Saturday and Al Kuwari now holds fourth in the points’ standings behind runaway series leader Mike Szymura of Germany, Sweden’s Nicklas Friberg and China’s Bincheng Wu.
Podium finishes in the two Abu Dhabi races could well move the Qatari into the top three if results go his way.
Registration and technical scrutineering for the races take place at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club on Wednesday and the first of the permitted free practice sessions for both the F1 H2O and F-4S entrants get underway from 08.00 hrs (Qatar time) on November 28.
The first of the two F-4S races fires into life at 13.00hrs (Qatar time) and the three qualifying stints to determine the starting grid takes centre stage at 14.30hrs (Qatar time).
November 29 is race day on Abu Dhabi and further free practice sessions before lunch precede the second of the F-4S races at 13.00hrs (Qatar time) and the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at 14.30hrs (Qatar time).
The Peninsula
