Al Qemzi grabs another podium finish as Team Abu Dhabi tighten grip on team title race
Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente maintained his overall lead in the 2019 UIM F1H2O World Championship today with a battling performance to finish second in the Grand Prix of France.
After starting in fourth position, reigning world champion Torrente produced a determined bid to claim his ninth Grand Prix win before finally being edged out by Sweden’s Jonas Andersson by 1.97 seconds.
With Thani Al Qemzi also climbing two places from the start to take the third podium place, Team Abu Dhabi tightened their grip on the overall F1 team championship which they won so convincingly last year.
There was drama on the 14th lap when France’s three-times former world champion Phillipe Chiappe, enjoying a seven seconds lead over Andersson after a flying start from pole position, was halted by mechanical problems.
Moments later the race was yellow flagged after another Frenchman, Cédric Deguisne, turned his boat over, and from the re-start Torrente had Team Amaravati’s new leader, Andersson, in his sights and kept the pressure on all the way to the finish.
Torrent said at the finish: “I pushed hard to try and force Jonas into a mistake, while making sure I didn’t make any mistakes myself to stay ahead in the championship.”
Torrente was fourth fastest and Al Qemzi fifth when the qualifying session postponed from Saturday was run in better condition on Lac Leman today, with just 0.9 secs separating the top six.
Drivers standings
1. Shaun Torrente 35pts
2. Jonas Andersson 32pts
3. Thani Al Qemzi 27pts
4. Peter Morin 16pts
5. Marit Stromoy 16pts
6. Bartek Marszalek 8pts
Team standings
1. Team Abu Dhabi 62pts
2. Team Amaravati 32pts
3. Emirates Racing 24pts
4. CTIC F1 Shenzhen China 16pts
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