Qatar’s Carella in third place; Selio takes pole

ABU DHABI, UAE:  Just five days after the thrilling Grand Prix of Qatar in Doha Bay, the Qatar Team’s Shaun Torrente and Alex Carella were in qualifying action off the breakwater in Abu Dhabi yesterday to try and take pole position for today’s penultimate round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship.
Throttle problems and damaged engines marred their progress in the morning’s free practice session to keep the Qatar Team technicians busy. But the duo qualified for the race in third and sixth positions, with Finland’s Sami Selio snatching pole from Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe with a stunning lap of 44.82 seconds in the six-boat Q3 shoot-out.
Torrente may well have to start the race from the back of the grid, however, after his engine failed on the run out to the start of his first Q3 lap.
Qatar’s Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari was quickest in practice, qualified on pole and finished fourth in the first of the two 19-lap F-4S races for the Eurofin Trophy. Qatari newcomer Mohammed Al-Obaidly reached the finish in seventh.
Italian rookie Alberto Comparato secured victory by 18.85 seconds, although Germany’s Mike Szymura closed in on the 2013 title with a solid second place. He now leads the championship by 52 points with 60 available to nearest rival Nicklas Friberg from the remaining three races.
“Today was not our day and we have to accept that,” said Khalid bin Arhama Al Kuwari, head of formula racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which runs under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
“We will look at the engine in Shaun’s boat and make the decision what we have to do. If it means he has to start from the back then we have to accept that. Alex has third position behind Sami and Phillipe. It’s set up nicely for a great race.”
The Peninsula