DOHA, Qatar - Friday, 13th of March, 2015 - The opening round of the 2015 UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating saw it's qualifying day on Friday come to a sudden halt when gusting North winds arriving from the open Gulf created havoc on the five-pin 1.76 kilometer race circuit along the corniche on Doha Bay forcing race officials to declare a cancellation of official qualifying.
The battle for pole position and starting spots on the pontoon will be an early start on Saturday now scheduled for 08:00 local and 05:00 GMT tomorrow morning.
Weather reports are projecting better conditions for the competitors for both qualifying and the Grand Prix which is scheduled for 15:45 local, 12:45 GMT and 8:45 EST on the East Coast of North America.
The first Free Practice of the weekend was delayed three hours and took place at 13:00 lasting just one half hour of the scheduled one hour time session. The conditions during the session continued to only get worst with defending race champion Shaun Torrente of the Qatar Team as the American running on his teams home waters and chasing his third win in his last four starts here in Doha, led the times with a 46.77 second lap for a speed of 161.64 kph.
Second quick, was Shaun's ex-teammate in Alex Carella as the Team Abu Dhabi driver ran 2.01 seconds slower with a 48.78 second lap and 154.98 kph around the tricky circuit.
A big surprise was Alex's new teammate and fellow Italian and rookie David Del Pin who managed a 49.35 second time for 153.19 kph speed.
Kuwait pilot Youssef Al-Rubayan was fourth with a 49.40 second lap for the F1 GC Atlantic Team with Sami Selio of the Mad Croc Racing Team rounding out the top five in practice with a 49.81 second tour and 151.78 kph lap for the two-time World Champion.
Both qualifying and the Grand Prix can be followed live by going to the tours official website at www.f1h2o.com with official times and the worldwide television broadcast available for the start of the 32rd year of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship and the 11th Grand Prix of Qatar.
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