ABU DHABI - 30 October, 2014 - The current defending UIM F1 H2O World Championship winning Qatar Team was testing early this week for multiple days getting ready for the upcoming Grand Prix of the Middle East slated for the 14th and 15th of November on Doha Bay for the third and pivotal round of the 2014 UIM F1 H2O World Championship.
The full complement of personal from the QMSF (Qatar Marine Sports Federation) were on hand outside Orlando consisting of Team Leader Khalid Al Kuwari along with Assistant Team Manager Brendan Power, drivers Alex Carella and Shaun Torrente, Team Advisor Atillio Donzelli and propeller developer David DeWald.
Also on board for the tests were F4S drivers Mohammed Al-Obaidly and Khalid Abdulla Al Kuwari.
The test lake, in a secret location in Central Florida, is set up as a perfect platform for tests as the team worked for multiple days in perfect weather with warm sunshine and light winds getting in many hours of testing and preparation for their upcoming Grand Prix on their home waters of Doha Bay in just over two weeks.
A year ago in Doha Shaun Torrente took the checkered flag the first of his career. He won after chasing his teammate Alex Carella for all but the final two laps when the three time World Champion developed engine problems ending his dreams of his first victory on his teams home circuit.
Four months later, in Mid-March of this year, the tables turned with Shaun leading the way until the final six laps when smoke in the cockpit forced him to pull off the circuit in the lead of the event handing the win his teammate Alex for his first win of the season and his first victory on Doha Bay.
After both drivers traded times on the water the past few days in their 2009 "test mule" boat on their test lake, they turned the boat over to the "youngsters" giving their F4S drivers Al-Obaidly and Al-Kuwari their first ever F1 experience.
Both drivers ended the session with about 10 laps each behind the controls of an F1 DAC boat with both hoping someday to be the future faces of the Qatar Team.
Also stopping by watching the testing session today was past UIM Race Commissioner Duke Waldrop who enjoyed his time seeing old friends and trading stories with Atillio Donzelli whom he has known since they first were together in December of 1985 in Nassau, Bahamas.
It's now back to Doha for the Qatar Team and their quest for their fifth victory in the races last six events on their home waters on the Gulf.
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