F1 H20 NATIONS CUP
Singapore, November 18th-20th, 2011
For immediate release
Sunday, November 20th, 2011
AL-SHAMLAN AND AL-KUWARI CLINCH SECOND AND
THIRD PLACES IN F1 H20 NATIONS CUP IN SINGAPORE
· Team UAE’s Ahmed Al-Hameli wins Singapore Grand Prix
· Team UAE pips Team Qatar to inaugural Nations Cup title
· Team Qatar duo set second and ninth times in third practice
MARINA BAY (Singapore): Team Qatar’s Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan and Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Kuwari finished the first ever F1 H20 Nations Cup Singapore Grand Prix in second and third positions, but missed out on the inaugural F1 H20 Nations Cup title by the narrowest of margins on Sunday.
Team UAE’s Ahmed Al-Hameli won the race outright and his team-mate Majed Al-Mansoori finished fourth and that was sufficient for the Emiratis to pip Team Qatar by just four points. Team South Africa finished third.
“Our guys are getting faster and more experienced all the time,” said Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, head of formula racing at the QMSF, which runs under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
“I am especially pleased for Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari. He pushed when he needed to and drove in a restrained manner when he needed to. Our drivers are the future of racing and we are pleased with the performance in Singapore.”
After qualifying in second and eighths places, it was vital that the Team Qatar duo made a good start to the main race on Marina Bay. Torrential rain and thunderstorms marred the build up the race itself, but Al-Shamlan and Al-Kuwari started brightly and were in the leading bunch until the first of two rapid-fire yellow flags halted proceedings.
Team Brazil and Team Singapore duly found themselves in trouble, but the Team Qatar duo took up the gauntlet after the restart and held third and fourth places behind Team UAE’s Al-Hameli and Al-Mansoori under the yellow flag.
Action resumed soon afterwards and, by lap 33, the leading quartet had held station, with the UAE duo heading their Middle East rivals and Team South Africa and Team Brunei trailing in their wake.
Another yellow flag was raised after an incident on lap 37, although Al-Shamlan had managed to pass Al-Mansoori and seized control of second position. There was no way back from then on and a yellow flag gave way to a white and the chequered flag was raised almost immediately to signal the end of the competitive action.
But the final twist in the tale involved Al-Mansoori, who was adjudged to have clipped a buoy. He was penalised one lap and dropped to fourth behind Team Qatar’s Al-Kuwari.
The Qatar pair had set the second and ninth fastest times in Sunday morning’s final practice session in Marina Bay, with Al-Shamlan again shadowing Al-Hameli in the times with a best lap of 37.21s.
F1H2O Nations Cup – results (unofficial)
1. Ahmed Al-Hameli (Team UAE) 39 laps
2. Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan (Team Qatar) @ 1.69s
3. Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari (Team Qatar) @ 11.26s
4. Majed Al-Mansoori (Team UAE) I lap behind
5. Mark Shepherd (Team South Africa) 1 lap behind
6. Tim Fetherstonhaugh (Team South Africa) 1 lap behind
7. Ismail Bin Kabon (Team Brunei) 1 lap behind
8. Risto Painio (Team Finland) 1 lap behind
9. Robert Fernandez (Team Malaysia) 1 lap behind
10. Lebos Chaguri (Team Brazil) 1 lap behind
F1H2O Nations Cup – points (unofficial)
1. Team UAE 68 pts
2. Team Qatar 64 pts
3. Team South Africa 46 pts, etc
Ends
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