Carella thwarts Torrente to seal stunning victory in Grand Prix of France

The three-time world champion led from the halfway point and managed to stay well clear of the Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente until the yellow flag was raised on lap 25 after a collision between Erik Stark and Francesco Cantando.

Alex Carella led from the halfway point. — Supplied photo

Dubai — Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella clinched a sensational victory in Sunday’s 19th Grand Prix of France, round two of the UIM F1 H20 World Championship, on Lac Leman in Evian-les-Bains in France. The Italian now leads the series by two points.

The three-time world champion led from the halfway point and managed to stay well clear of the Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente until the yellow flag was raised on lap 25 after a collision between Erik Stark and Francesco Cantando. Racing did not resume and Carella reached the chequered flag under a yellow flag, with Torrente pulling off the course with two laps to run under the yellow flag with reported fuel issues.

Finland’s former World Champion Sami Selio held on to claim second position and Kuwait’s Youssef Al-Rubayan of the F1 GC Atlantic Team sealed the final podium position.

“This is a fantastic win for our new team and everyone at Team Abu Dhabi. But we still have a way to go to get a full understanding of the boat,” said a delighted Carella.

“It’s a completely new package, so we have to work a bit to find the maximum and to find the balance with the boat and the propeller. But this is a major boost for everyone and shows that we are on the right track.”

Defending World Champion Philippe Chiappe claimed pole position and managed to hold off a fierce Carella challenge through the opening laps, as the duo began to pull away from the rest of the field. He held a slender lead until mechanical problems intervened on lap 17 and handed Carella the advantage he held to the finish.

Earlier, Chiappe claimed pole position in Sunday morning’s re-scheduled Q3 session, the Frenchman posting a fastest lap of 47.69sec to claim the best spot to start the 34-lap race and move into the lead of the UIM F1 H20 Pole Position Championship.

Youssef Al-Rubayan started the race from second after carding a lap of 47.83sec and Carella slotted into third place with a time of 47.84sec for Team Abu Dhabi. Shaun Torrente, Sami Selio and Jonas Andersson filled the minor places in the top six.