DOHA - November 14, 2014 - The Qatar Team got what it was hoping for when American driver Shaun Torrente came out last in the six boat "Shootout" Q3 qualifying session and blistered the 5-pin 2.0 kilometer (1.27 mile) circuit with a 148 kph lap to take pole position for tomorrow's Grand Prix of the Middle East in front of thousands of race fans on Doha Bay at the third round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship for power-boating.
The driver from Cape Coral, Florida set a 48.65 second lap after earning the right to come out last after being the fastest in the 20 minute Q2 session earlier as the sun was fast setting on the Gulf. Torrente beat French driver Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC China Team by .51 of a second to earn his first pole since Kazan of 2012.
"The boat ran like it was on rails," said native of Miami. "We knew we had a great package after our hard three day test session in Florida two weeks ago and Alex (Carella) and I learned a lot from that experience."
"I'm truly excited that my teammate is right up their with me and has a great opportunity to wrap up the title if all the cards fall in place in tomorrow's Grand Prix and hopefully I can do what I did a year ago here, win."
For the driver from Rouen, he used his introduction to his new French built MOORE boat to almost a storybook conclusion laying down a 49.16 second lap for a 146.46 kph run. It was the fifth time in his last five years he has qualified just off pole as he gets ready to start his 90th career Grand Prix tomorrow.
"We were hoping we had just enough to get it done and we were just a whisker off earning our first career pole," said Philippe. "It's great I'm ahead of the driver I'm chasing for the title. I know if I hadn't made a mistake on the back end of the race circuit in my fast lap I truly would have had a shot for pole."
For three-time reigning World Champion Alex Carella his third place wasn't what he wanted at the end of the day. Now, knowing he's going to have to really push if he wants to end the season early as a four-time World Champion.
"We did what we could with what we had," said Alex. "We're not on pole but we are in a great position for the championship and remember I wasn't in the lead here in March until late and still won the race. So, let's see if it comes back to us again on Saturday."
Jonas Andersson of Team Sweden, who had pole the last time the tour was in Doha, finished in fourth position with a 49.86 time setting his fastest lap on his second go around in the "shootout". The 2008 winner is looking for his first podium of the year in his Danish built boat.
Kuwaiti driver Youssef Al-Rubayan was fifth in his F1 GC Atlantic hull hoping to get his second career podium here on Doha Bay tomorrow after doing so with a third place finish last November.
Marit Stromoy of Norway struggled to get her boat and engine package working early for her Team Nautica crew. She ended up having a great last minute charge in Q2 to earn here fifth career shootout, settled for sixth with a fine 52.37 second lap and 137.48 kph lap.
Italian veteran Francesco Cantando pushed to reach Q3 just missing settling for seventh with a 51.83 second lap in his Motorglass F1 Team BLAZE hull as he chases for his first victory in 24 races in his 147th career start.
The tours youngest driver Filip Roms of the Mad Croc Baba Race Team ran a 52.18 second lap taking eighth on the grid just ahead of Chinese driver Ziwei "Leo" Xiong of the CTIC China Team and a 53.34 second time on the two kilometer circuit.
Rounding out the top ten was a very disappointed two-time World Champion Sami Selio who had equipment problems finishing with a 54.33 second lap. Expect to see the driver from Helsinki come charging from mid-pack tomorrow in a run to reach the top five in the first few laps of the event.
Tomorrow's Grand Prix of the Middle East, the third round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship for power-boating will begin at 15:30 local, 12:30 (GMT) and 07:30 EST on the East Coast of North America as the series gets set for back to back Grand Prix's with next weeks Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi scheduled for the 20th and 21st of November.
The question now is can Italian Alex Carella wrap up his fourth World Title in a row tomorrow or will the title fight continue as we head for the final two races of the season beginning next week.
Tomorrow's Grand Prix can be followed "live" by going to the tours official website www.f1h2o.com with live scoring and television courtesy of the worldwide television network telecast.
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