2012 UIM F1 H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
21st Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi – round 5, November 29-30
For immediate release
Saturday, November 24th, 2012
QATAR’S ALEX CARELLA LOOKS TO CLOSE IN ON
SECOND SUCCESSIVE WORLD TITLE IN ABU DHABI
· Terry Rinker replaces Shaun Torrente in second Qatar Team boat
· Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari looking for success in F-4S races
ABU DHABI (UAE): The Qatar Team’s Alex Carella could mathematically clinch his second successive UIM F1 H20 World Championship title at this coming weekend’s Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.
With the unfortunate absence of Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al-Hameli through recovery from illness, Carella knows that if he reaches the chequered flag first in Friday afternoon’s race and neither Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe nor Finn Sami Selio finish on the podium, another world title will be heading back to the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) in Doha.
Carella holds a nine-point lead over the absent Al-Hameli. He also has an 11-point advantage over Chiappe and is 18 points in front of Selio, with 20 available to the winner, 15 for second, 12 for third and nine for fourth position. Both Thani Al-Qamzi and Francesco Cantando could mathematically still win the title, but that would depend upon the leading trio failing to finish either of the remaining two races.
To assist Carella’s cause, following the suspension of team-mate Shaun Torrente’s licence after a driving infringement in China last month, the QMSF’s Khalid bin Arhama Al-Kuwari has recruited the services of American driver Terry Rinker to join the Qatar Team for the last two races of the season in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
“Terry has always been on the Qatar Team’s radar along with Shaun when the two drivers were racing back and forth on the US circuit,” admitted 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.
“Many of the Qatar Team members have worked with Terry before, including Brendan Power, and this has made his transition into the team that much easier. There are still 40 points up for grabs in the two races and we need to ensure we get more than the other teams.”
Al-Kuwari admits that the Qatar Team has carried out many hours of dynamometer testing in preparation for the back-to-back UAE races, but the boats have been in a container at sea since the race in China and actual boat testing has been impossible.
“We have not been to any race in the past few years without many new components to test,” added Al-Kuwari. “That is what keeps us at the top of this game. Insha’allah, we will have the world title again in 2012!”
The Abu Dhabi race also sees the return to F1 H20 action of Qatar’s 2008 World Champion Jay Price with a new Skydive Dubai team and the first appearance of the season for Britain’s Malcolm Goodman, who stood in for the injured Andy Elliott as part of the Qatar Team alongside Price in 2009.
Meanwhile, Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari will represent the Qatar Team in the competitive UIM F-4S races for the Eurofin Trophy. Al-Kuwari holds joint fifth in the 12-race series, the outcome of which looks set to go down to the wire in a straight dogfight between Sweden’s Jesper Forss and Britain’s Matthew Palfreyman. Forss takes a tiny two-point lead into the first of two races on the new Abu Dhabi course.
Technical scrutineering and registration will take place on Wednesday (November 28) and practice may be permitted in the afternoon on the revised racecourse. Free practice and the time trials for the F-4S runners start at 09.20hrs (08.20hrs Doha time) on Thursday morning and the F1 boats hit the water at 10.30hrs. The first of the two F-4S races starts at 13.30hrs and F1 qualifying gets underway at 15.00hrs.
Race day (Friday) gets underway with F-4S free practice and time trials from 09.15hrs and further F1 practice from 10.15hrs. The second of the F-4S races starts at 13.30hrs and precedes the 2012 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, starting at 15.30hrs (14.30hrs Doha time).
2012 UIM F1 H20 World Championship – standings after round 4
1. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team 59 pts
2. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 50 pts
3. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 48 pts
4. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc F1 41 pts
5. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 25 pts
6. Francesco Cantando (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 21 pts
7. Stanislav Kourtsenovsky (RUS) CTIC China Team 11 pts
7. Yousef Al-Rubayan (KUW) F1 Atlantic Team 11 pts
9. Shaun Torrente (QAT) Qatar Team 10 pts
9. Jonas Andersson (SWE) Team Sweden 10 pts, etc
2012 UIM F1 H20 Pole Position Championship – standings after round 4
1. Alex Carella (QAT) Qatar Team 62 pts
2. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc F1 47 pts
3. Shaun Torrente (QAT) Qatar Team 42 pts
4. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 32 pts
5. Phillipe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC China Team 30 pts
6. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 28 pts
7. Yousef Al-Rabayan (KUW) F1 Atlantic Team 21 pts
8. Francesco Cantando (ITA) Singha F1 Racing Team 10 pts
2012 F-4S Drivers Eurofin Trophy – standings after race 8
1. Jesper Forss (SWE) Team Sweden 135 pts
2. Matthew Palfreyman (GBR) Atlantic Team 133 pts
3. Tobias Munthe-Kaas (NOR) Team Nautica 87 pts
4. Xiong Ziwei (CHN) CTIC China Team 67 pts
5. Khalid Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT) Qatar Team 32 pts
5. Mohamed Al-Mehairbi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 32 pts
7. Kornel Vo (HUN) Team Mad Croc 30 pts
8. Viktor Vo (HUN) Team Mad Croc 27 pts
9. Rashed Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 14 pts
10. Valts Silis (LAT) Team Singha 13 pts
11. Jan Andre Landsnes (NOR) Team Singha 11 pts
Ends
For further information:
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www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).
www.qmsf.org
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