Carella needs podium finish to seal UIM F1 H2O World C’ship
sharjah — Competitors got their first taste of the 2.057km race course on Sharjah’s Khaled Lagoon during a free 90-minute practice session on Wednesday afternoon for the 2017 UIM F1 H2O World Championship 18th Grand Prix of Sharjah.
Team Abu Dhabi’s three-time World Champion Alex Carella needs a podium finish in Friday’s race to guarantee a fourth world title and he ran his DAC for 14 laps, carding a best of 48.51sec to slot into seventh place. Victory in the session went to a tying Norwegian Marit Strømøy and Carella’s arch rival Philippe Chiappe with a best tour of 47.70sec apiece. A mere 0.81 seconds separated the top seven drivers as the pressure and excitement begins to mount in advance of the weekend’s showdown between Carella and Chiappe of the CTIC Shenzhen China Team.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed and Thani Al Qemzi will play a vital supporting role this weekend and a top seven performance for either of the Emirati drivers will confirm the UIM Teams’ World Championship heads back to the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sport’s Club (ADIMSC) for the first time since 2015.
The duo ran for 16 and four laps and carded best times of 48.21sec and 49.95sec to slot into third and 11th positions. Al Qemzi was the first driver to post a sub 50-second lap of 49.95sec eight minutes into a session that was held in bright and breezy conditions. There were also some fast lap times for Chiappe’s teammate Peter Morin, the Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente and Team Sweden’s Erik Stark.