Dubai: Team Sweden’s former four-time F2 world champion Erik Stark announced his arrival on the big stage when he led from pole to clinch the Grand Prix of Harbin — the third round of the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championship held on the Hulan Estuary Wetland Circuit on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Stockholm resident made his first-ever win after 22 F1 career grand prix races even more memorable as he finished a clear 9.31 seconds ahead of the three chasing boats from the UAE — Thani Al Qamzi from Team Abu Dhabi, Ahmad Al Hameli from Victory Team and Alex Carella from Team Abu Dhabi. Three-time world defending champion Philippe Chiappe ended outside a podium finish for the first time after a long time as he came in fifth followed by Stark’s teammate Jonas Andersson.
“This is such a dream for me to win in such awesome surroundings,” Stark told Gulf News from Harbin.
“This win does so many things for me and for our team. For sure, I get a lot of confidence heading into the next three races of the season, and it also shows me that I am capable of doing the job with the limited resources we have at our disposal. I am now convinced that we have a very strong package and I will be the guy to beat from now on. The next race will be the next important race for us,” he added.
The yellow flag was up for four laps on the 15th lap of the 53-lap race when Marit Stromoy took off a couple of buoys and the lone lady driver followed last year’s Grand Prix of Harbin champion Sami Selio back to the paddocks.
That break proved to be crucial for the chasers as Al Qamzi, Al Hameli, Carella and Chiappe all grouped for an onslaught towards the top driver. But Stark was too fast as he established a five-second lead over the chasing Team Abu Dhabi’s Al Qamzi and a further 17 seconds away from Victory Team’s Al Hameli.
With Stark refusing to give up on his prized top spot, the chase intensified for the second and third places with the two Team Abu Dhabi boats of Al Qamzi and Carella putting Victory Team’s Al Hameli under pressure. Ultimately, there were no changes in the line-up as Al Qamzi took a vital 15 points leaving his cousin and close friend Al Hameli in third while Carella remained content with fourth and the vital points that took him to the top of the leaderboard in the overall drivers’ championship.
“I did well midway to keep Ahmad [Al Hameli] under pressure. But later I realised it is better to be more conservative and get the points that will come in handy for the overall season standings,” Carella said.
“The restart [after Lap 19] was really tough as we were suddenly all grouped up together. Ahmad [Al Hameli] passed me and I really didn’t have a chance to stop him. The next race will be equally important for me to get some more points and build up on what we have,” the Italian added.
The 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championship will now head to Liuzhou, China for the fourth round to be held from September 29-October 1.
Results of the 2017 Grand Prix of Harbin — Round Three of the UIM F1H2O World Championship held in Harbin, China, on Sunday: 1. Erik Stark (Sweden) Team Sweden (20pts); 2. Thani Al Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi (15); 3. Ahmad Al Hameli (UAE) Victory Team (12); 4. Alex Carella (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi (9); 5. Philippe Chiappe (France) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team (7); 6. Jonas Andersson (Sweden) Team Sweden 5; 7. Bartek Marszalek (Poland) Blaze Performance Team (4); 8. Filip Roms (Finland) Mad Croc Baba Racing Team (3); 9. Cedric Deguisne (France) Maverick F1 (2); 10. Peter Morin (France) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team (1).
