VYSHGOROD, Ukraine: Qatar Team’s Shaun Torrente and defending UIM F1 H20 World Champion Alex Carella finished second and third behind Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe in the Grand Prix of Ukraine on the Kiev Sea at Vyshgorod yesterday.
Chiappe managed to pass pole winner Sami Selio of Finland to take the lead of a grand prix for the first time and the CTIC China Team driver held on to win his first ever F1 H20 race, despite fierce pressure from Torrente over the latter stages of the race. Carella shadowed his team-mate to the finish in third and Selio was fourth.
Khalid Abdullah Al Kuwari qualified in fourth position and finished fifth in his F-4S race for the Eurofin Trophy.
Latvian rookie Nikita Lijcs won the race but second place for Mike Szimura gave the German a two-point lead over Niklas Friberg.
“Unbelievable,” said Khalid bin Arhama Al Kuwari, head of formula racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which runs under Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani.
He added: “This race was like a scene from a movie, so exciting.I have always had every faith in Shaun as a terrific driver and he and Alex did a great job for us today. Second and third places are a perfect result for us and it means that we leave here with a one-point lead in the championship.”THE PENINSULA
