ABU DHABI - (Saturday, August 29, 2015) - In what has now become a two decade tradition, racing in the Peoples Republic of China in the early fall of the year has produced many exciting moments for drivers dreaming of winning the prestigious title of "World Champion" on the UIM F1 H2O World Championship tour.
This year will be no different, as drivers from 12 different nations on four different continents head to the lovely city of Liuzhou in Southern China on the first and second of October for the fourth round of the 2015 championship.
This year is all the more exciting, highlighted by seven competitors, separated by just 17 points for the battle to see who can come away with the trophy proving to everyone who is the best and most courageous on water as the world's number one!
The hopes and dreams of drivers looking to take the top honors have been either realized or shattered along the Liu River in the past eight years since the tour first came to Liuzhou in 2008.
Recently, it has all been the talents of the multi-time World Champion Alex Carella of Italy, having won this race three straight years in a row using these victories to propel him to two of his three championships in 2012 and again in 2013.
The Team Abu Dhabi driver in 2015 has had a less than stellar year thus far. He started off with a fifth in Qatar in March, followed by a disqualification in France before earning a podium third place at the tours last event in Porto, Portugal.
In Liuzhou, since 2012, he has not only won all three events but has done it from starting from pole position.
"I love this circuit," commented Alex. "It's just something about the surroundings that make this such a great place for me. My only misstep came in 2011 when I qualified second, was forced to start of the end of the dock because of engine problems and still finished fifth. Well, when you look back on this, that's not too bad overall."
Alex went on to say: "With the nature of the championship this year and considering I'm down 17 points and sitting tied for fifth in the points chase, I can't afford to have any more more hiccups this season or my dreams of another title will go straight out the window."
"We'll have to be perfect once again in Liuzhou."
Fighting jet lag and coming farther than any other competitor to the event, will be the points leader in the championship, Shaun Torrente of the Victory Team. The driver from Florida will be circling the globe and facing a 12 hour time change in hopes of improving his performance in Liuzhou having finished fourth as his best result a season ago in three previous starts.
"We need a podium in the worst way in China," said Shaun. "We feel we are getting better with our package and the guys on the team are working constantly to keep improving as the season rolls along."
"We'll have a lot of confidence coming to Liuzhou for sure this year."
For defending World Champion Philippe Chiappe of the home based CTIC China Team, he is coming off a dominating victory in Porto and is now just behind Torrente with 35 points in second place. The four time winner on the tour is looking for his first victory in China having finished a career best third in three of the last four years on the Liu River.
"I've raced in China fifteen previous times and am still looking for my first win," said Philippe. "Hopefully, our luck will change this time around and it would be so great to win here for all our loyal sponsors and fans around the area."
"It would truly be a thrilling victory if we can accomplish it here."
Just behind the top two points producers this season and tied for third are Youssef Al Rubayan of Kuwait for the F1 GC Atlantic Team along with Swede Erik Stark of the Emirates Team, both with 27 points.
Youssef, earned his first career victory at the Grand Prix of France back in late June, while Erik has produced two podium finishes in his two finishes in Doha and Porto.
Al Rubayan, has raced three previous times in China with his best result being a fifth in 2013. Stark in the meantime, has finished a career tying best runner-up second place a year ago to Alex Carella in Liuzhou and is hoping to do it again this time around to stay in the battle for his first world title.
Fellow Swedish driver Jonas Andersson is fourth in the title chase with 24 points in his Danish built Molgaard boat. He earned a second in Doha and a fourth in Evian thus far this season before failing to finish at the seasons last event in Portugal.
The Team Sweden driver from Fruvi, won in Liuzhou in 2009 and is hoping for a repeat. He will almost need to if he wants an honest shot at the title in 2015 as he makes his 15th start in China this year.
The UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating has a rich tradition that dates back to 1995 in the "Peoples Republic".
The sports most challenging series on water, gets set to arrive at the beautiful state of the art multi-story complex that parallels the river which is dedicated to powerboat racing. The mid-week race spectacular on the holidays of the first and second of October is once again expected to draw tens of thousands of race fans from around the region.
The official qualifying session and battle for pole position will take place at 15:00 local (07:00 UTC) and 03:00 EDT on the East Coast of North America on the first of October. While the Grand Prix of China will take place on the second of October at 14:30 local (06:30 UTC) and 02:30 EDT on the East Coast of North America for the eighth time in Liuzhou.
Every moment of both qualifying and the Grand Prix can be followed "live" by going to the tours official website at www.f1h2o.com via the worldwide television broadcast feed.
Stay informed as the UIM F1 H2O World Championship turns the corner as it starts its second half of the 2015 campaign from Southern China in the lovely 3.6 million metropolis of lovely Liuzhou on the Liu River.
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