Team Abu Dhabi target Sharjah glory

Abu Dhabi's Alex Carella and Thani Al Thani will be aiming for the top step of the podium in the main race on Friday.

Team Abu Dhabi will be aiming to round off another successful season in world power boating by winning the F1 H2O Grand Prix and the two F4-S races at this weekend's final round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship on Khaled Lagoon in Sharjah.
Fresh from finishing third in the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and claiming a first ever UIM F4-S Championship title, the team out of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) travels the short distance through Dubai to the third largest of the emirates determined to wrap up the season in winning style.
While Alex Carella and Thani Al Thani will be aiming for the top step of the podium in the main race on Friday afternoon, Frenchman Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team stands within one point of winning the drivers' world title for the third year in a row. He leads Victory Team's Shaun Torrente by 19 points and knows that his American rival has to win the race outright to claim 20 points and is relying on Chiappe not finishing inside the top 10.
Torrente also finds himself locked in a four-way battle for the runner-up spot in the championship. He currently leads Abu Dhabi race winner Jonas Andersson of Team Sweden by six points, with Team Abu Dhabi's Carella and Finland's Sami Selio tied in fourth, three points behind the Swede. There are numerous permutations for how the race will pan out, but if history is anything to go by, it promises to be a scintillating end to the season.
Carella drove a brave race last Friday to snatch the final podium place from a slowing Torrente and it's been a traumatic week for the talented Abu Dhabi driver. He left the UAE within hours of the finish of the race to return to Italy to spend time with close family following the death of his father. The Italian returns to the scene of one of his greatest World Championship 'triumphs' in determined and focused mood. The collision he had with Jay Price at the first turn buoy in 2011 - to claim the world title for the first time in dramatic circumstances - was one of the most memorable incidents in recent F1 H2O racing history. Carella is also a firm favourite to win this year's UIM H2O Pole Position Championship. He takes a five-point lead over Chiappe into BRM Qualifying on Thursday afternoon. Team mate Thani Al-Qamzi, meanwhile, has endured a difficult few races and the Emirati is due some better fortune on the last race of the season.
Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Qamzi clinched the UIM F4-S Championship last Friday on home waters and the talented Emirati will be looking to wrap up a superb season with a pair of victories in the two 20-minute F4-S races on Thursday and Friday. He has been the class act in the prestigious feeder series to the F1 H2O Championship and arrives in Sharjah with a 51-point lead over Dutchman Ferdinand Zandbergen. Abu Dhabi team mate Mohammed Al-Mehairbi holds seventh in the drivers' points standings and a top finish for the Emirati would confirm the F4-S Teams' title for the ADIMSC-based team.
After technical scrutineering and the option to carry out un-timed free practice on the five-pin course on Wednesday afternoon, action gets underway with timed practice and F4-S timed trials on Thursday morning. The first of the two 20-minute F4-S races begins at 2.30pm and the first of the three BRM Qualifying sessions takes centre stage at 3.30pm.