Dubai: Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella has vouched that the best is yet to follow during the remaining five rounds of the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championship.
The third round of the championship will be held in the middle of August in Harbin, China and Team Abu Dhabi’s Carella is confident he can power his way to a fourth world title by the time Sharjah plays host to the season finale in December.
Carella led from start-to-finish to win the Grand Prix of France on Lac Leman in Evian on Sunday and slip into second place on the drivers’ standings with 29 points behind Mad-Croc Baba Racing’s Sami Selio, one point ahead with 30.
Three-time defending world champion Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team — who exited the race on the 17th lap — is currently in third with 20 points followed by F1 Atlantic Team’s Duarte Benavente and Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
“This victory has been in the making for a long time. In the first place, to win for a second time in France is simply a great feeling. I owe this to the team and it was very important to win for the sake of the team,” Carella told Gulf News from Evian.
“We now have a perfect boat and I have put my maximum into this race and it has all paid off. I feel we can go all the way this season with the kind of support we have,” Carella added.
The Team Abu Dhabi driver will, however, have to be wary of the dual threat being posed by Victory Team’s Torrente and Al Hameli. The American driver who crashed during qualifying earlier on Sunday, did well to make his way from the back of the grid to third place behind Carella and Sami Selio of the Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team. “The feeling of being on the podium is simply amazing. We really dodged the bullet here and saved our championship hopes by getting some good points. Now we can go to Harbin and with a better footing as we broke the ice and have the points with us to go forward,” Torrente said.
“We will continue to push and try to win each time we are out on the water. Harbin looks good to me and I can win there. We are here to fight till the end,” he added.
Al Hameli too was buoyant after his first points with Victory Team. “The points are good for the team. The race was tough and the wind was stiff and unstable. But now, everyone in the team is happy with the points earned,” Al Hameli said.
“Harbin will be totally different. I expect nothing till we do some more testing. From past experience of winning in Harbin last year, the winds can be tricky there. But for me, it has been a good place. It has quiet water and I can repeat my win,” he added.
Overall positions
(After Round Two)
1. Sami Selio (Mad-Croc Baba Racing — 30 points); 2. Alex Carella (Team Abu Dhabi — 29); 3. Philippe Chiappe (CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team — 20); 4. Duarte Benavente (F1 Atlantic Team — 14); 5. Shaun Torrente (Victory Team — 12); 6. Ahmad Al Hameli (Victory Team — 9); 7. Jonas Andersson (Team Sweden — 7); 8. Bartek Marszalek (Blaze Performance — 7); 9. Erik Stark (Team Sweden — 7); 10. Cedric Deguisne (Maverick F1 — 5); 11. Thani Al Qamzi (Team Abu Dhabi — 5); 12. Grant Trask (F1 Atlantic Team — 4); 13. Marit Stromoy (Emirates Racing Team — 3); 14. Peter Morin (CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team — 2); 15. Francesco Cantando (Blaze Performance — 1).
Overall teams’ positions at the end of the Grand Prix of France — Round Two of the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championships that was held on Lac Leman, Evian, France, on Sunday: 1. Team Abu Dhabi — 34 points; 2. Mad-Croc Baba Racing — 30; 3. CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team — 22; 4. Victory Team — 21; 5. F1 Atlantic Team — 18; 6. Team Sweden — 14; 7. Blaze Performance — 8; 8. Maverick F1 — 5; 9. Emirates Racing Team — 3.
