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Dhabi resident Al Qemzi taking seven wins, 23 podiums and two pole
positions.
Duarte Benavente was one of only two drivers in 2016 to finish in the
points in all races and will be looking to kick start his season with more of
the same at his home Grand Prix and in Portimao in particular, where he
made his F1H2O debut in 1999 and in 2009 grabbed a podium third in
race 2.
The F1 Atlantic team has undergone a second driver change in as many
seasons, and despite a move to a UAE team announced earlier in the year,
Australia’s Grant Trask has surfaced in Portugal as Benavente’s teammate.
The 28-year-old from Brisbane, who followed in his father’s and uncle’s
footsteps last year to make his F1H2O debut in Abu Dhabi, missed out on
points initially but delivered a very credible top 12 qualifying performance
then finishing in sixth with five points in Sharjah.
Italian outfit Blaze Performance retains its driver line up with the
experienced Francesco Cantando once again joined by Poland’s Bartek
Marszalek.
Cantando is one of the most experienced off all the drivers and starts his
21st campaign. He has the second highest career points of the current
crop of drivers with 922.5. His 12 Grand Prix victories and 42 podiums
and five pole positions from 168 starts, makes him one of the most prolific
scorers of points in the series history.
Marszalek starts his seventh season on the tour andwill be looking to start
2017 with the form he produced in Sharjah last time out, earning his best
ever showing in qualifying with P6.
Thefinalpieceinthe2017teamanddriverjigsawpuzzleistheconfirmation
that Cedric Deguine’s Maverick F1 Team will join the UIM-F1H2O tour
full time this season, with fellow Frenchman Amaury Jousseaume as the
second driver.
F1H2O
Cantando is one of the most experienced off all the drivers and
starts his 21st campaign.
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n° 1April | 2017