Team Abu Dhabi look to seal title at home race
ABU DHABI: Team Abu Dhabi face one of the most important and potentially lucrative races in their history when the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (Adimsc)hoststhisweekend’sgrand Prix of Abu Dhabi, the penultimate round of the 2018 UIM F1 H2O World Championship.
The team has dominated this year’s championship thus far and team drivers Shaun Torrente, Erik Stark and Thani Al Qemzi head into the weekend’s action holding the top three places in the Drivers’ Championship.
Team Abu Dhabi has a massive 53-point advantage in the UIM Teams’ Championship and Stark leads Torrente by seven points in the Pole Position Championship.
Mathematically, all three titles could be sewn up on the challenging 1.973km race course at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater by Saturday afternoon, although it is more likely that Team Abu Dhabi will clinch the Teams’ series for the third time in four years and the outcome of both the Drivers’ and Pole titles will go down to the wire in Sharjah on Dec.15.
A pair of 1-2-3 finishes and a 1-3 outcome in Amaravati last month has put the Emirati team that runs under the umbrella of the ADIMSC, board member and general manager Salem Al Remeithi and team manager Guido Cappellini in a superb position.
Team Abu Dhabi drivers have won all five rounds of the series so far this year and claimed 11 of the 15 available podium places.
The team has been testing in the build up to a race where Torrente takes a seven-point lead over Stark into the weekend. An engine issue robbed Qemzi of his chance to reach the podium in India, but the Emirati is determined to overcome the set back and reduce the 18 points by which he trails Torrente.
The Abu Dhabi driver needs to finish ahead of the American at the very least to keep his title hopes alive, while Stark will need to be at least fifth and collect at least eight points if Torrente wins the race at the Breakwater.
More importantly, both Qemzi and Stark will be hoping to push for the race win and take the outcome of the title battle to a thrilling conclusion at the final round.
The silverware is not just restricted to Team Abu Dhabi drivers, however, and a race win for fourth-placed Peter Morin of the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team would keep the Frenchman in the hunt provided that Torrente didn’t finish inside the top five. Morin’s team-mate, three-time World Champion Philippe Chiappe, holds fifth in the title race and needs at least two race wins to stand any chance of winning the championship for a fourth time.
There are several drivers more than capable of springing a surprise and spoiling the Abu Dhabi party on home waters.
Defending champion and fourtime World Champion Alex Carella of the Victory Team and his teammate Ahmed Al Hameli are sure to be quick in qualifying and have the pace to stave off the Abu Dhabi onslaught. They have also been testing in the build up to the race.