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Abu Dhabi’s 3-time world champion says Al Qemzi has what it takes to win when he takes the F1H2O seat
By Narayan Marar April 24, 05:15 PDT
Shaun Torrente – Team Abu Dhabi © Simon Palfrader
Shaun Torrente will aim to maintain his winning streak in China at the weekend in order to get back on track with the Abu Dhabi team for a fourth UIM F1H2O World Championship title.
The defending champion, who won his first two F1H2O world titles in China in 2018 and 2019, approaches Sunday’s Zhengzhou Grand Prix determined to erase the memory of his first-round disappointment in Indonesia.
Torrente took the lead at the season’s opening Grand Prix, only to be penalized for an early start, ceding his first career victory to Polish driver Bartek Marszalek.
“Indonesia definitely didn’t finish the way I wanted it to,” Torrent said. “I won the race on the water, but unfortunately I made a mistake. At least I took a few points, so we moved on in China. As usual, I’ll fight for the win and try to get back to the top table, one at a time laps, one race at a time.
“Of course, it’s a different venue in China this time, and I’m just looking forward to getting in the water and seeing what we can do. We usually get to new venues very quickly, like we did in Indonesia, so I feel like we’ll be in a position there. In good shape.”
Torrente has high hopes for three-time UIM F2 champion Rashed Al Qemzi, who in Abu Dhabi 2 succeeds his cousin, veteran Emirati driver Thani Al Qemzi, who was unable to make the trip to China.
“It wasn’t even necessary to integrate Rashid into the team because he had been a backup driver for three or four seasons,” Torrent said. “He’s been with us, we’ve done F2 and endurance racing together. He’s a very talented, fast driver.
“The most important thing for him is to get some experience and do all the laps. Honestly, if everything goes well, he will have a chance to win the race because he has a lot of speed. It is not expected that he will, but his ability is definitely It’s on that level.”
Al Qemzi, who won the UIM Endurance Championship with Abu Dhabi in 2019 and 2021, made his F1H2O debut in Sharjah in 2016 and scored his first points there a year later. He is a naturally confident competitor and will absorb all the encouragement and motivation he has received from Torrent and team manager Guido Capellini.
“I’m very happy to be racing in F1 again and I will give everything for the team,” he said. “Of course, F1 is where I really want to be. Sean helped me when we won the enduro title together, he’s a great guy. As a three-time world champion, I can learn from him. Learned a lot from me.
“Guido told me to test the boat in extra free practice and then the team can prepare me for the next day. My weight will be different compared to Thani so some adjustments will be needed and I’ll have a look at it How it fits my driving style.”
UIM F1H2O World Championship – Leaderboards:
- Bartek Marszalek, Stromoy Racing 20 points
- Sami Selio, Sharjah 15 points
- Erik Stark, Victory 12 points
- Peter Morin, China CITIC Team 9 points
- Thani Al Qamzi, Abu Dhabi 7 points
- Brent Dillard, China CITIC Team 5 points
- Filip Roms, Mad Croc Gillman Racing 4 points
- Jonas Anderson, Sweden 3 points
- Shaun Torrente, Abu Dhabi 2 points
- Ahmad Al Fahim, Victory 1 point
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