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Each of the top three topped the time sheets over the three sessions,
Davoll going quickest in Q1, Price on top in Q2 and Vandyshev at the top
when it mattered most, with Jorn Lassig in fourth ahead of Mohammad
Kadri and Scott Gillman in sixth.
In the match race the UAE’s Rashed Al Qamzi was too strong for
Australia’s Brock Cohen in the final, taking the overall victory with two
straight wins and putting the UAE at the top of the overnight standings
with 39 points.
The shoot-out for the final podium slot was an all-Russian affair between
Andrei Panyushkin and teammate Roman Vandyshev, Panyushkin
winning the duel with Russia moving into second place overall just one
point behind the leaders.
Despite facing a raft of more experienced drivers in the knockout stages
it was the two youngsters, Al Qamzi 24 and Cohen 19, who starred and
upstaged their more illustrious peers in the match race format of two
boats racing off against each other on an alternate course over the best
of three runs, the match-ups decided by drivers qualifying positions.
Al Qamzi’s route to his second Nations Cup match race final saw him
defeat Cohen’s teammate Corey Davoll, then his own teammate Rashed
Al Tayer and pole-sitter Roman Vandyshen in the semi-final.
Cohen will remember his Nations Cup debut for some time after first
taking the scalp of four-time F1H2O World Champion Scott Gillman,
then beating defending Nations Cup Champion Andrei Panyushkin, and
with Davoll picking up 11 points Australia were in the mix to challenge
for the title in third.
In race 1 Roman Vandyshev led from start-to-finish to take victory, and
with teammate Andrei Panyushkin’s fifth place Russia headed into race 2
leading the points table.
Australia’s Corey Davoll produced another strong performance to move
from third place off the dock to take a well-earned second place, holding
off the attentions of American Jay Price.
But there was disappointment for the second Australian driver Brock
Cohen whose crash on lap three brought out the first of two yellow flags,
ending his Nations Cup debut with the team’s chances of improving on
third spot severely dented.
The restart saw Scott Gillman make an immediate move on Panyushkin
to take fourth, with Germany’s Jorn Lassig running in sixth but losing
out to the UAE’s Rashed Al Qamzi when the second yellow was raised
after Italian Roberto Lo Piano destroyed a buoy, the boats running the
remainder of the race under yellow to the chequered flag.
Vandyshevwas at it again in race 2 and completed a near perfect weekend
taking his second win of the day to lead Russia to a successful defence of
their title. Vandyshev was supported brilliantly by Panyushkin, the duo
topping the overall standings with 120 points.
Second place overall went to USA’s Jay Price and Scott Gillman whose 73
point haul from the two sprint races edged them past the UAE’s Al Qamzi
and Al Tayer by a single point, 100-99.
Russia crowned Nations Cup
Champions
42
n° 4December | 2016