Dubai: As many as seven drivers representing three teams from the UAE will be in action at the Grand Prix of France — the second round of the 2017 UIM F1H20 Championship taking place at Lac Leman in Evian, France, this weekend.
Flying the Class One World Champions familiar blue colours will be Victory Team’s Ahmad Al Hameli and his American partner Shaun Torrente. Joining them will be the Team Abu Dhabi trio of Italian Alex Carella along with the Al Qamzi duo of Thani and Rashid, while Emirates Racing Team’s Marit Stromoy and Mike Szymura complete the teams from the UAE.
“We are ready for any challenge that is thrown at us. But the weather has been acting up and the rain with strong winds is not really something that will help us during racing,” Al Hameli told Gulf News from Evian.
“We have done extensive testing during the break after the opening race in Portugal. But, it is also important that we get a feel of the boats in these conditions. And that can happen only if the weather permits,” he added.
Al Hameli could not even start in Algarve in the second half of April after a freak accident at the end of qualifying. The Victory Team driver had done well to earn a start in second place behind teammate Torrente. The American driver was off to a quick start and led for ten laps of the 50-lap race when his boat’s engine deserted him and he limped out giving three-time defending world champion Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC China Team the easiest of victories and maximum 20 points in the season opener.
“That was pure bad luck. But after that we have done a lot of testing in our boat to ensure we have better reliability with the engine,” Torrente said.
“Hopefully, what we have done during the off-season and the pre-season and during the break will all come together and we can get our campaign under way this season,” he added.
Team Abu Dhabi’s three-boat assault will be led by Carella — the only driver from the UAE with championship points against his name following a fourth-place finish in Portugal. The team from the capital lost five engines in Portugal, but this is something that they have hopefully managed to address during the summer break.
Meanwhile, defending world champion Chiappe was quietly confident of yet another strong showing. “We have been waiting for this challenge. We are aware that there are several boats and drivers who would want to be where we are at this moment. We are focused on winning this one, provided we can handle the conditions on the lake,” the Frenchman said.
“I have never won in my previous two starts, so winning this for the first time will be an added motivation.”
Action in the Grand Prix of France will get under way on Saturday with a second official practice session from 12.15pm (UAE time) followed by the BRM Qualifying from 6.20pm to 7.20pm. The Grand Prix of France will be held from 5pm on Sunday.
