Officials and teams are making final preparations for the UIM F1H2O World Championship’s return to Sardinia for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix of Regione Sardegna.
The new Olbia race, round four of the championship and a late addition to the 2022 calendar, brings F1H2O back to the Mediterranean island for the first time since Scott Gillman, now boss of Gillman Racing, won there in 2004.
Torrente in front
Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente leads team-mate Thani Al-Qemzi by 17 points, and victory in north-east Sardinia would put the Florida-based driver in a commanding position ahead of December’s back-to-back Sharjah finale.
Wins in France and in race one at San Nazzaro in Italy, plus third in the second Italian race, have given Torrente the edge over Al-Qemzi, who was second in races one and three. Their consistency has also given the ADIMSC-based team a useful lead in the Teams’ Championship, though the last Italian weekend suggested the final three rounds could be even harder to call.
It’s the best start to a season I’ve ever had. There were 60 points available and I’ve had 52, so that’s a pretty good start. We just need to keep going and take really good points on Sunday. The feeling in the team is good. We want to win every race. I stayed on in Italy for an extra day to test and prepare for Olbia.
Shaun Torrente
The challengers
Sharjah Team’s Sami Selio showed in Italy that he has the pace to end his run of bad luck. The Finn was fastest in free practice and qualified second behind Torrente for the last race, but two accidents sidelined the two-time former World Champion. His Baba has been repaired and Selio is ready to go.
While Selio has struggled to turn speed into results, team-mate Ferdinand Zandbergen has been the revelation of the first half of the season. The Dutchman converted a surprise pole at round three into a lights-to-flag first career win on the Po River and jumped to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
I was speechless after the pole position in Italy. Whether I won or not, my weekend could not have been any better. Now it’s a case of keeping the momentum going. I will be aiming for another pole and another win.
Ferdinand Zandbergen
Team Sweden’s Jonas Andersson and Kalle Viippo are third and seventh in the standings, and Andersson is well placed to mount a late title defence. The veteran trails Torrente by 21 points and Al-Qemzi by four and will look to build on his second place in race one at San Nazzaro. Viippo has scored at all three races.
Peter Morin and three-time World Champion Philippe Chiappe have had mixed fortunes. Morin was on the podium in Mâcon but was disqualified from the second Italian race after struggling at the back when forced to change boats before the start, though he set the fastest lap in race three. Technical problems hit Chiappe in Italy and the former series pace-setter is a surprising 12th.
Alec Weckström has made an impressive start to his F1H2O career. Fifth last year and sixth so far in 2022, the 24-year-old Finn, guided by team manager and four-time World Champion Scott Gillman, was fourth and third in the first two races before electrical problems on his DAC ended his FIM Grand Prix of Italy.
It has been a turbulent season for Marit Strømøy in the first of the Strømøy Racing Babas. She scored five points in France, but a violent clash with Selio on the Po River forced the Norwegian to miss both Italian mainland races, and she will be hoping for better luck as she seeks to add to her four career podiums and one race win. Poland’s Bartek Marszalek drives the team’s second Baba and has one point more than Strømøy after three rounds.
Maverick Racing’s Cédric Deguisne and Alexandre Bourgeot are eighth and 13th, with the French pair’s best results coming in the second Po River race last month. Deguisne has raced in F1H2O since 2004, with a best finish of fourth and a best championship position of 11th, while Bourgeot finished 12th in his debut season last year.
Talented young Italian Alberto Comparato is ninth despite two non-finishes, having suffered technical trouble in France and collided with Chiappe in the first Italian race before finishing fifth in race three. Veteran Paolo Longhi has joined the Comparato F1 team as a second driver and will race at the last two rounds in Sharjah.
Engine and technical problems have held back Portuguese veteran Duarte Benavente, who, like Selio, has yet to score. The F1 Atlantic Team driver first raced in F1H2O in 1999 and will draw on that experience to turn his season around.
Timetable
Registration and scrutineering take place on Friday (October 14) morning, followed by the pre-event press conference and 90 minutes of extra free practice on the 1,620-metre, eight-pin course next to the Molo Brin pier in Olbia.
A one-hour free practice session on Saturday morning precedes the all-important qualifying sessions. Further free practice is allowed on Sunday morning, and the 2022 Italian Grand Prix of Regione Sardegna starts at 15.00hrs.