SHENZHEN, China – Sunday, October 24, 2010 – Italian Francesco Cantando was in the right place at the right time, taking over the lead with just two laps to be run to take his first win of the season and the 12th of his career at the 16th Grand Prix of China witnessed by tens of thousands of race fans on the edge of the South China Sea for the 5th Round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating.
The 35 year-old from Milan, who had qualified third moved quickly into second behind pole sitter and race leader Ahmed Al Hameli of Team Abu Dhabi who had the race in control until a mechanical failure in the final moments making this the fourth straight event that he had dropped out without a point since winning the opening round in Portugal back in May.
“We were looking to take a fourth podium finish in five starts, but when Ahmed broke, I couldn't believe it,” said Francesco. “Sometime you have luck handed to you and other times it just eats you. Today, it was our day and I finally have taken the monkey off my back by winning for the first time in 45 Grand Prix's since Singapore in 2005.”
It was a good day also for the CTIC China Team as their drivers Philippe Chiappe and Pierre Lundin both reached the podium in 2nd and 3rd position for the first time this year.
“It was an important afternoon for this team,” said the Frenchman Chiappe. “We knew we always had the speed, we needed to put all the points together and it worked perfectly for us today a great team effort.”
“I've had good luck here in China,” the Swedish driver Lundin said. “It was the seventh time in 12 races we've finished in the top five and with my wife and family along with me this weekend, it couldn't be anymore fun.”
Mad Croc driver Sami Selio who had two victories in the last three races in Shenzhen came home 7.41 seconds behind the winner just ahead of his teammate Alex Carella who is pushing hard for “Rookie-of-the-Year” honors with another great performance.
Thani Al Qamzi of Team Abu Dhabi charged from the back of the field to take sixth, while American Tim Seebold was seventh in his Skydive Dubai Baba boat.
Norwegian woman Marit Stromoy finished a fine eighth while Italian Fabio Comparato was ninth in the 800 Doctor boat with Swede Jonas Andersson grabbing the last points in the Team Azerbaijan boat.
The UIM F1 H2O World Championship series takes a month off and heads for Doha, Qatar for the sixth race of the 2010 campaign on the 26th and 27th of November. Cantando leads the championship now with 59 points, Price is 2nd with 48 and Alex Carella third with 46.
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