It was a tough weekend for Team Abu Dhabi, with Alberto Comparato finishing 14th
Action from the race. — Supplied photo
Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt extended his lead in the 2024 UIM F1H2O World Championship with victory in the Grand Prix of Shanghai, China as hazardous conditions brought the race to an early finish.
Just 11 of the scheduled 32 laps had been completed when the Grand Prix was halted for safety reasons, with Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al Qemzi and defending world champion Jonas Andersson among those to suffer as the weather took its toll.
After climbing two places to sixth as he looked to fight his way through the storm, Al Qemzi slipped to a tenth-place finish, while Andersson narrowly avoided a spectacular crash and conceded second place in the title race as conditions deteriorated.
Under pressure from fellow-Swede Erik Stark, Andersson dramatically saved himself after spinning sideways, but he was unable to prevent the Victory Team driver nudging him down to third spot in the Grand Prix, and the championship.
It was a tough weekend all round for Team Abu Dhabi, with Alberto Comparato finishing 14th, and like Al Qemzi, he will be aiming for a big lift when the penultimate round takes place in Zhengzhou in two weeks’ time.
Championship rookie Wyatt was the driver who coped best throughout as the weather first ruled out the first free practice session, and yesterday forced the cancellation of the two sprint races.
He was fastest in the second practice session before clinching pole position, and built a comfortable lead from the Grand Prix start, eventually finishing with a 7.2 secs advantage over Stark, and now leads him by 17.5 points in the championship.
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