Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente and Thani and Rashed Al-Qemzi saw their pre-season hard work pay off as they qualified first, second and 11th for the Grand Prix of Portugal on the Arade River in Portimão on Saturday evening.
To avoid potentially disruptive weather and tides earlier in the day, the three-stage BRM Qualifying session was held as the sun set over the Algarve. The trio, racing DAC boats for the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC), were on the pace all afternoon, and Torrente saved his best for the Q3 shoot-out, taking pole with a 41.68-second lap.
Thani Al-Qemzi pushed his new team-mate hard to take second, while Italy’s four-time World Champion Alex Carella could not break 42 seconds and qualified third for Victory Team. His team-mate Ahmed Al-Hameli gave the UAE the top four places, with three-time World Champion Philippe Chiappe and fellow Frenchman Peter Morin completing the top six.
I am so proud of the team. All the guys worked so hard and I thank everyone at the club who work so hard for us. Six months of work and it shows with first and second places. I love everything about the boat. Today I did a good job. But there is a little bit left on the table and that is what matters. Now we have to continue working and finish the job!
Shaun Torrente
Mohammed Al-Mehairbi represented Team Abu Dhabi in the first of the weekend’s two F4 Trophy races in his Molgaard, taking pole and finishing second behind Team Sweden’s Pedro Fortuna.
Etihad Airways is Team Abu Dhabi’s official carrier, and the team is supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, advisor to the Head of State and ADIMSC chairman, and the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, ADIMSC Vice-President and CEO. It runs under ADIMSC board member and general manager Salem Al-Remeithi and team manager Guido Cappellini.
I am delighted for the whole team that our drivers have delivered a fantastic start to the new season with first and second on the grid. A great deal of effort has gone into pre-season preparations. Now we have to continue this form into the race itself.
Salem Al-Remeithi
BRM Qualifying
Seven drivers went out in Q1 and six more in Q2. With four minutes of a frantic Q1 left, less than a second covered the top 12. Bartek Marszalek and Filip Roms did not start and were eliminated with Simone Shuft, Cedric Deguisne, Sami Selio, Erik Stark and Erik Edin, as Grant Trask survived in the dying seconds. Three boats were investigated; Torrente’s fastest Q1 lap was erased, but he still qualified, with Jonas Andersson credited with the Q1 win.
Chiappe opened Q2 with a 42.92-second flyer to go top as Andersson was sidelined by boat damage. Carella, Thani Al-Qemzi and Torrente were in the top four with five minutes left, while Trask, Rashed Al-Qemzi, Francesco Cantando, Duarte Benavente and Marit Strømøy were eliminated.
Morin set the Q3 target at 42.16 seconds but could not improve. Carella opened with 42.03 and found another hundredth on his second run. Torrente then stunned with 41.68, falling three hundredths short on his second run but keeping pole. Thani Al-Qemzi took second with 41.75, and neither Al-Hameli nor Chiappe could match the American, giving Team Abu Dhabi a famous one-two.
Practice
Friday evening’s two-hour extra practice saw the Team Abu Dhabi trio dominate early on, but defending UIM F1H2O World Champion Carella eventually set the fastest lap of 41.80 seconds after 50 laps of the Arade River course. Torrente was second with 42.06, setting up a duel between the former team-mates, with Andersson, Chiappe and Edin next. Seventeen of the 19 entrants ran; Marszalek and Trask sat out.
Torrente won Saturday afternoon’s official practice in rough conditions with a last-gasp 43.29-second lap, ahead of Chiappe, Carella and Thani Al-Qemzi, with Rashed Al-Qemzi seventh.
F4 race one
Ten boats lined up for the first of two 20-minute F4 races. Al-Mehairbi set the early target in the timed trials with 54.15 seconds before improving to 54.07 for pole, ahead of F4 Trophy newcomers Quentin Dailly and Max Stilz, with British racer Sam Whittle fourth on his debut. Tom Chiappe and Rudolf Mihaldinecz did not take part in qualifying.
Fortuna made a superb start to pass Al-Mehairbi and lead. Stilz held third while Tom Chiappe climbed from the back to fourth and passed the German before half-distance. Fortuna held on for a stunning win, with Al-Mehairbi second and Chiappe third.
Sunday’s programme includes free practice, F4 practice, timed trials and the second F4 race, before the Grand Prix of Portugal at 18.00hrs (21.00hrs UAE time).