Saturday, December 7: Team Vietnam’s Jonas Andersson held off fellow Swede Erik Stark to clinch a crucial pole position for Sunday’s Road to Sharjah-Grand Prix of Sharjah after a frenetic final qualifying session on Khalid Lagoon on Saturday morning.
Pole position could well be a decisive moment for the leader of the UIM F1H2O World Championship with the dramatic news that the Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt – his closest title rival - was penalised for dangerous driving after a spectacular collision with Strømøy Racing’s Bartek Marszalek in Q2 and will provisionally start the Grand Prix from 11TH position.
Andersson beat the Victory Team’s Stark by 0.198 seconds after a nip and tuck Q3 session and that was sufficient for the Swede to retain the F1H2O Pole Position Trophy.
He said: “Q1, I put in one fast lap and it was okay. We were saving the equipment. In Q2, I really had to push because I had the wrong propeller and the wrong set-up of the boat. Q2 was tricky. Q3, we were missing one boat. There were only five and the set-up started to work. We have the pole. I am happy, but we know anything can happen here in Sharjah. Erik is super-fast and you can break down. We will go like a normal race and try to win it.”
Stark added: “I don’t know how many times it is this year that I have been leading. Then, Q3, and Jonas takes me in the end. It was very close but big congrats for him. This was like a pole for me. We were really struggling yesterday in free practice. This is why the Victory Team is one of the best in the world. They worked so hard and found one and a half seconds (per lap) for me today. I am very happy to do my last qually with them and get P2. I am not leaving for any bad reasons. I love everyone in the team and I have been with them for a long time.”
Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi held off the China CTIC Team’s Peter Morin to snatch third place on the start pontoon and Great Britain’s Ben Jelf qualified his F1 Atlantic Team boat in a career-best fifth place.
Q1
Seventeen drivers lined up for the opening 20-minute session in calm conditions with five facing elimination before the start of Q2. It was imperative to put in a fast early lap and Morin and Stark did just that with laps of 48.405sec and 48.665sec before the yellow flag was raised after just 90 seconds.
After a short yellow flag stoppage, action resumed and Al-Qamzi hit the front with a 48.253sec flier to all but guarantee his passage into Q2. Title contenders, Andersson and Wyatt, were safely ensconced within the top 10.
The fastest lap in the session went to Morin (47.654sec) but the Maverick Racing duo of Cédric Deguisne and Alexandre Bourgeot, the F1 Atlantic Team’s Duarte Benavente, Team Vietnam’s Kalle Viippo and Filip Roms of the Sharjah Team failed to progress to Q2. Viippo suffered technical issues on the start pontoon and was not able to post a timed lap, while fellow Finn Sami Seliö survived by the skin of his teeth.
Q2
A further six drivers would be eliminated during the second 15-minute session. Stark laid down the gauntlet with an opening tour of 48.164sec but Marit Strømøy was not able to leave the pontoon after suffering electrical issues on her four-stroke DAC.
Strømøy said: “As I was starting for Q2 the engine didn’t fire and we lost all the connection. There was some failure in the main harness. We tried to fix it until the last minute.”
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Wyatt languished at the foot of the rankings before he stormed into second place with a 47.779sec flier. Stark topped the times with a best run of 47.095sec but Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi, Ahmad Al-Fahim, Strømøy, Bartek Marszalek, Brent Dillard and Seliö failed to make the cut off for Q3.
Marszalek barrel-rolled out of contention after a spectacular collision with Wyatt with 90 seconds on the clock, as he made a frantic bid to overhaul Andersson and snatch sixth place in the session. The four title contender safely reached the final six-boat shoot-out after action resumed following the yellow flag for the closing minute or so of the stint.
Dillard qualified in ninth. The American said: “Disappointed. To be honest, I need to look at the data, the engine felt good and the boat was good. We put a new steering box in and it was a lot easier to turn.”
Dramatically, Wyatt was not permitted to run in Q3 and Marszalek was placed into Q3, although the Pole was not able to challenge for pole after his earlier crash. Wyatt had been penalised for dangerous driving by race officials and earned himself a yellow card. He was also pushed down to 11th in the rankings with his best lap cancelled. Could that cruel misjudgement ruin the Canadian’s title challenge?
Q3
Ten minutes would decide pole position for the final race of the season. Andersson stormed out of the blocks with a 46.415sec opener but Stark redressed the balance and snatched the lead with a run of 46.267sec. Al-Qamzi moved ahead of Morin to pinch third.
Andersson then ran the first sub-46-second lap of the weekend to snatch provisional pole with a 45.750sec tour. That lap stood until the chequered flag with Andersson grabbing pole from Stark, Al-Qamzi, Morin and an impressive Jelf.
The two Sprint races that could have a decisive impact on the outcome of this year’s UIM F1H2O World Championship are scheduled for 15.10hrs and 15.40hrs this afternoon.
