SHARJAH, UAE - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - Since 2000 The Grand Prix of Sharjah has become a battleground for World Champions to be won. This year however, Italian Alex Carella has already captured the flag for the second straight season. His spectacular performance last Friday in Abu Dhabi gave the 27 year-old his sixth career win as he claimed the title for the second time in just 20 Grand Prix starts.
The Qatar Team pilot has earned his place in the sun knowing he doesn't have to push for glory this weekend.
However, for the other 20 plus drivers in this years UIM F1 H2O World Championship final, their strategy will be different, as they all would like to end their season on a positive note with good "vibrations" all around with a year well done.
Three drivers, Philippe Chiappe, Sami Selio and Thani Al Qamzi are still in the hunt for the coveted runner-up position in the drivers championship. With 20 points still available for a winning performance, Chiappe has 57, Selio 53 and Al Qamzi with 40. All have a shot at earning the number two position near the top of the table behind Carella.
Meanwhile, the Team Championship is still undecided between Team Abu Dhabi and the Qatar organization. Just three points separates Team Abu Dhabi's lead as the crew from Doha continue it's momentum to close up and earn a second straight championship at the end of racing late this upcoming Friday afternoon.
While the Qatar Team has their one driver in the stable with the title, replacement driver Terry Rinker, the multi-time North American Champion from Florida, will look for a top five performance after finishing eighth in Abu Dhabi in his opening race on the F1 H2O tour in a boat he had never raced before last weekend.
Team Nautica with drivers Rini Osculati of Switzerland and Marit Stromoy of Norway are both looking for their first top-five performance of the season to go with their steady runs this year. Stromoy had one of her best days ever in F1 when she finished fifth here in 2009.
Team Abu Dhabi is hoping that Al Qamzi can win for a third time here in his 14th start. He has been on the podium in a third of the races on the Khaled Lagoon. Meanwhile, Majed Al-Mansoori who has replaced the ill Ahmed Al Hameli is hoping for another top ten having finished seventh back at his first race in Sharjah in 2002.
The CTIC China Team is banking on their French star Philippe Chiappe to lead the flag for another podium. The driver from Rouen has just one top three in nine previous starts here but he did it a year ago finishing third after qualifying in the same position.
Teammate Stanislav Kurtsenovskiy of Russia, who has four top ten finishes this season, had a ninth here as his best performance in 2003. The 41 year-old driver from St. Petersburg who is contemplating retirement wants to go out of the sport with on a good note.
The Atlantic Team with Philippe Tourre of France, Duarte Benavente of Portugal and Youssef Al Rubayan of Kuwait all have the talent to finish in the top five. Tourre has just one finish this season, while Benavente has had a pair, while earning a fifth as his best showing in Sharjah back in 2000. Al Rubayan started tenth and finished outside the points in 11th a year ago.
Finland's Sami Selio has earned two world titles here back in 2007 and again in 2010. The driver from Helsinki has more podiums than any driver in the history of racing in Sharjah with seven. His rookie teammate, who is the youngest driver to ever race F1, Filip Roms is hoping for his third top ten finish of the season.
Team Sweden has rookie driver Erik Stark on board for only his second race in his F1 career. The Stockholm native has dominated F2 for the past two seasons, while veteran Jonas Andersson starts for the eighth time here looking for his first victory on the circuit along with two podiums and four top five performances.
Francesco Cantando of the Singha Team won from the pole here back in 2000. Consistency is the key word for this talented driver from Milan with five failures to finish in the record books. However, his three podiums show that he should be a factor for Friday's upcoming finale.
Fellow Italian and teammate Valario Lagiannella picked up points here a year ago finishing 10th while producing three already this season as well.
The Caudwell Racing organization from South Africa are looking towards their drivers Ivan Brigada and Brett Stuart to hit the points paying program with top ten finishes for the first time this season in the lovely designed Caudwell hulls.
The 2008 World Champion Jay Price of New Orleans, Louisiana brings his talents to the Skydive Dubai race team having won here in 2009 with two podiums in the previous eight starts.
A field of 22 drivers from 15 different nations will take to the Khaled Lagoon in Sharjah on Thursday, the 6th of December beginning at 15:50 local time, 11:50 GMT and 06:50 EST on the East Coast of North America for three sessions of "knockout" qualifying and the battle for pole position.
The 14th Grand Prix of Sharjah, the sixth and final round of the 2012 UIM F1 H2O World Championship will take place 16:00 local, 12:00 GMT and 07:00 EST on the East Coast of North America.
Both qualifying and the Grand Prix can be followed in their entirety by going to the tours official website at www.f1h2o.com for the Worldwide Television Broadcast feed.
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