2011 UIM F1 H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Tatarstan, Kazan – round 3
For immediate release
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
QATAR’S CARELLA AND PRICE QUALIFY IN FIRST
AND THIRD FOR SUNDAY’S GRAND PRIX IN KAZAN
· Sensational fastest lap of 44.63s for Qatar’s Alex Carella
· Qatar’s Khalid Al-Shamlan takes F-4S pole and finishes third
KAZAN (Russia): The Qatar Team’s Alex Carella and Jay Price qualified in first and third positions for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Tatarstan, round three of the UIM F1 H20 Wrld Championship, on the Nizhny Kaban Lake in Kazan.
Carella and Price swapped fastest times throughout the final qualifying session, but a potential engine problem plagued Price in the closing minutes and he was unable to press on to catch Carella, who held off second-placed Shaun Torrente with a late faster lap of 44.63s.
Qatar’s Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan won the morning’s practice session on the six-pin course and qualified on pole position for the fifth UIM F-4S race of the season. But he slipped to fourth on the opening lap of the race and eventually finished third behind Sweden’s Bimba Sjoholm and Britain’s Matthew Palfreyman.
“It was a great result for Alex, but we missed out on a 1-2,” 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.
“I heard from Jay on the radio that there was a problem with the engine and we will have to see what is the situation. There is a chance he may have to start the race from the back of the field. Still, the plan is to get as many points as possible and bring the world title back to Qatar. I am still quite happy with the day.”
Timed trials
Finishing in the top 15 was crucial during the first of the three qualifying sessions and Price quickly leapt to the top of the leader board with a lap of 47.02s and this was eclipsed immediately by Carella’s 46.33s. Stanislav Kurtsenovskiy and Valerio Lagiannella failed to make the second qualifying session for 15 boats and Price and Carella qualified in a comfortable first and fourth position with Price clocking a fastest lap of 45.75s.
Price hit the front again shortly after the start of Q2 and stayed out in front with his lap of 45.17s. Carella finished the session safely in fourth place, but Rinaldo Osculati, Phillipe Tourre, Marit Stromoy, Duarte Benavente and Pierre Lundin missed out on the final session for 10 drivers to determine pole position points.
Davide Padovan moved into an early lead from Price, with Carella slotting into fourth behind Selio. But Price snatched the lead with six minutes remaining with a potent lap of 45.07s, as Carella moved up to third. Price went even faster to extend his lead, but Carella and Torrente went even quicker and Carella recorded a 44.88s lap to seal pole position. Price’s challenge was thwarted with late engine problems.
Carella had been top of the charts in the morning’s first free practice session. The Qatar Team driver set a hot lap of 44.79s during his 25 laps on the course and that was one tenth of a second quicker than Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi. Price was down in seventh place with a lap of 45.63s.
F-4S
Qatar’s Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan was the form F-4S driver in the first practice session, the Qatari recording the quickest lap of 48.31s to pip Bimba Sjoholm by 0.05s. Seven boats entered the practice stint and the first of the timed trials, with Al-Shamlan going on to win the trials and claim pole position for the first of the weekend’s two 20-minute races.
The Qatari lined up ahead of Matthew Palfreyman and Sjoholm for the green light in the race, but slipped behind Sjoholm, Palfreyman and Filip Roms on lap one and settled into fourth place. He regained third place from Roms as the race reached its midpoint and held on to seal 12 valuable championship points, although he did lose the series lead to race winner Sjoholm.
Tomorrow
Free practice resumes on Sunday morning and the second of the F4-S timed trials starts at 11.50hrs. Al-Shamlan’s second F4-S race begins at 14.10hrs and Price and Carella take centre stage for the 12th Grand Prix of Russia in Tatarstan from 16.00hrs (15.00hrs Doha time).
12th Grand Prix of Russia, Kazan – timed trial results
1. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team 44.63s
2. Shaun Torrente (USA) Team Sweden 44.89s
3. Jay Price (QAT) Qatar Team 44.91s
4. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc F1 45.11s
5. Davide Padovan (ITA) Team Mad Croc F1 45.30s
6. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 45.61s
7. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 45.66s
8. Scott Gillman (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 45.97s
9. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 46.38s
10. Jonas Andersson (SWE) Team Sweden 48.64s
2011 UIM F1 H20 Pole Position Championship – standings after round 3
1. Jay Price (QAT) Qatar Team 39 pts
2. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team 38 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc F1 29 pts
4. Shaun Torrente (USA) Team Sweden 20 pts
4. Marit Stromoy (NOR) Team Nautica 20 pts
6. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 17 pts
7. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 15 pts
8. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 14 pts
9. Davide Padovan (ITA) Team Mad Croc F1 12 pts
2011 UIM F-4S Championship – standings after race 5
1. Bimba Sjolholm (SWE) Team Sweden 75 pts
2. Khaled Saleh Al-Shamlan (QAT) Qatar Team 71 pts
3. Filip Roms (FIN) Team Mad Croc 49 pts
4. Matthew Palfreyman (GBR) Team Atlantic 43 pts
5. Tobias Munthe-Kaas (NOR) Team Nautica 39 pts
6. Majed Al-Mansoori (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 33 pts
7. Xiong Ziwei (CHN) Team China 32 pts
8. Christian Carlsen (NOR) Team Singha 12 pts
9. Kristoffer Fjelde (NOR) Team Singha 5 pts
Ends
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