Évian-Les-Bains, France: Grand Prix of London winner Erik Stark has signed for Team Abu Dhabi and will join Thani Al Qamzi and Shaun Torrente in a powerful three-driver line-up in this weekend’s Grand Prix of France at Évian-les-Baines in south-eastern France.
The third round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship on a six-pin, 2.08km course on Lac Leman in France’s Rhône-Alpes region comes just two weeks after Stark claimed a sensational victory for the Maverick Racing Team at London’s Royal Victoria Dock to move into title contention behind three-time World Champion Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team and his new Team Abu Dhabi teammate Thani Al Qamzi.
Torrente, the winner of the opening round of the series in Portugal, suffered a disappointing outing in London and trails Stark by a single point in fourth place in what is developing into a scintillating contest in the Drivers’ Championship at this early stage of the season.
Stark’s shock signing for Team Abu Dhabi days after the London race had finished means that Rashed Al Qamzi, the defending UIM F2 World Champion, will concentrate on the defence of his F2 crown and his UIM World Endurance Championship responsibilities.
Torrente, third in France last year, said: “London was a very disappointing weekend for me but, at least, Thani salvaged some points for the team. How it finished wasn’t actually terrible for me. I am only seven points off the lead and Thani is only three off the lead. The way I look at it is just to move on. The boat went back to DAC to be repaired.”
“It’s awesome to have Erik with us. He’s a great driver and we can keep learning from each other and keep pushing each other. I am looking forward to it. I need to learn from the mistakes in London and go to France and get back on track. We have everything we need to be successful and now I need to go and do it. I have a good track record in France and have run really well there. I have been close to wins. Hopefully I can settle it up this time.”
The weekend’s timetable gets under way with scrutineering and administration on June 29 but there is no provision for the F4 Trophy boats on Lac Leman.
