2013 UIM F1 H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Brazil – round 1, June 1-2
For immediate release
Sunday, June 2nd, 2013
QATAR TEAM’S TORRENTE AND CARELLA FINISH
SECOND AND THIRD IN GRAND PRIX OF BRAZIL
· Finland’s Sami Selio leads opening 2013 race from start to finish
· Qatar’s Khalid Al-Kuwari finishes third in second F-4S race
· Carella and Torrente second and fourth quickest in practice
BRASILIA (Brazil): The Qatar Team’s Shaun Torrente and defending UIM F1 H20 World Champion Alex Carella finished second and third overall in the inaugural Grand Prix of Brazil on Brasilia’s Lake Paranoá on Sunday afternoon.
The pair were never able to pass the flying Finn and two-time World Champion Sami Selio, who led from pole position to the chequered flag, despite two yellow flag incidents. The victory was the 11th of Selio’s career.
Torrente pressed the Finn hard throughout but back markers cost the American time at vital instances and Carella finished a distant third. Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi was fourth and Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe was fifth. Ahmed Al-Hameli returned from serious illness to take seventh overall.
“It is points on the board and two podium finishes at the start of the season and a good foundation to work on for the rest of the year,” 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 had loads of issues yesterday before the pole but we have the best crew in the business and we were ready for the start today,” said Torrente. “It would have been nice to take the win but the points are invaluable at the start of the season.”
Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari qualified third for the second of the weekend’s F-4S races behind pole position winner Niklas Friberg and went on to finish the 15-lap race in third position to claim a second podium finish of the weekend. Friberg led from the start to claim a second win of the weekend, with Germany’s Mike Szymura taking the runner-up spot, albeit 40.61 seconds behind.
1st Grand Prix of Brazil
Torrente and Carella lined up in second and third positions on the pontoon behind Selio, with Andersson and Al-Hameli in close attendance. Thirty-two laps of the 2.2km course lay ahead and Selio made a flying start to surge away from the rest of the field. Both Qatar boats were passed by Al-Hameli before the yellow flag was raised after an incident involving Xiong Ziwei at the first turn.
Action resumed on lap four and Selio held off a fierce challenge from Torrente to maintain his lead. By lap 10, the Finn’s lead was 4.9 seconds and Carella retained third place from Andersson and a distant Al-Hameli.
Selio’s advantage was down to 3.1 seconds at the halfway point after 16 laps after he lost time overtaking back markers. Torrente and Carella retained second and third positions and Al-Qamzi overtook Andersson to take fourth place.
Selio’s lead over Torrente was 5.72 seconds through lap 22 and the Qatar driver reduced that to 1.55 seconds after lap 24 when Selio lost time behind seventh-placed Cantando. The Finn benefited from clearer water to extend his lead to 4.04 seconds with six laps remaining, as the pair pulled clear of third-placed Carella.
The yellow flag was raised for the second time on turn three with three laps remaining when Filip Roms barrel-rolled his boat and the boats bunched together for the final two laps. But the green flag was only raised with less than a lap to run and Selio headed Torrente and Carella through the chequered flag.
Carella and Torrente ran for 12 and 11 laps respectively in the morning’s free practice session and recorded the second and fourth quickest laps. Pole winner Sami Selio was the fastest driver in the stint.
F-4S for the Eurofin Trophy – race two
Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari qualified in third position for the second F-4S race after running for five laps in the time trials and recording a best lap of 1min 16.87sec. After his accident at the end of the time trials on Saturday, Hungary’s Kornel Vo was not able to start and Niklas Friberg gained pole position from Mike Szymura.
Friberg made the best start and began to edge clear of Szymura, as Al-Kuwari maintained third position. The Swede’s lead was 12.92 seconds at one-third distance and Al-Kuwari was safe in third position. By lap 10, Friberg led Szymura by 22.93 seconds and Al-Kuwari was well clear of fourth-placed Eirik Danielsen. Friberg eventually reached the chequered flag with a winning margin of 40.61 seconds.
The next round of the 2013 UIM F1 H20 World Championship takes teams to Kiev in the Ukraine on July 26-28.
2013 Grand Prix of Brazil – result
1. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team 32 laps
2. Shaun Torrente (QAT) Qatar Team @ 1.00 sec
3. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team @ 2.66 sec
4. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi @ 3.37 sec
5. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 1 lap behind
6. Francesco Cantando (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 1 lap behind
7. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 1 lap behind
8. Valerio Lagiannella (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 1 lap behind
9. Yousef Al-Rubayan (KWT) F1 Atlantic Team 1 laps behind
10. Marit Stromoy (NOR) Team Nautica 1 laps behind
2013 UIM F1 H20 Championship – positions after round 1
1. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team 20 pts
2. Shaun Torrente (QAT) Qatar Team 15 pts
3. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team 12 pts
4. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 9 pts
5. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 7 pts
6. Francesco Cantando (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 5 pts
7. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 4 pts
8. Valerio Lagiannella (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 3 pts
9. Yousef Al-Rubayan (KWT) F1 Atlantic Team 2 pts
10. Marit Stromoy (NOR) Team Nautica 1 pt
2013 F-4S Eurofin Trophy – positions after race 2
1. Niklas Friberg (SWE) Team Azerbaijan 40 pts
2. Mike Szymura (DEU) Atlantic Team/Interpass/GC 30 pts
3. Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT) Qatar Team 24 pts
4. Mohamed Al-Mehairbi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 18 pts
5. Eirik Danielsen (NOR) Team Nautica 14 pts
6. Bincheng Wu (CHN) CTIC China Team 5 pts
Jan Andre Landsnes (NOR) Singha Racing Team 0 pts
Kornel Vo (HUN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team 0 pts
Ends
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