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renchman Philippe Chiappe
sent a clear message to his
championship rivals that he is
intent on defending his title
successfully,
following
his
second consecutive win on
the Arade River Circuit in the
season opener at the UIM
F1H2O Grand Prix of Portugal
in Portimao in April.
The defending three time
champion and his CTIC F1
Shenzhen China Team were
rightly
cautious
in
their
approach, with Chiappe producing a measured performance
to seal his eighth careerwin tograb the early points’ advantage
in the title race.
Mad Croc BABA Racing’s Sami Selio was more than satisfied
with second place and 15 points better off than he was at
this time last year. Portugal’s Duarte Benavente gave the
Portuguese fans the home podium success they wanted to
see.
It was a testing race weekend for the 19 drivers and nine
teams from 12 countries, with gale force winds howling and
sweeping up the Arade River Estuary and playing havoc with
the event schedule, forcing UIM Commissioner Luis Ribeiro
to cancel Friday and then Saturday practice and move BRM
Official Qualifying to Sunday race day.
There was little that teams could do. The paddock was eerily
quiet and looking a little forlorn with pre-race preparations
taking place apace behind closed doors. The first sign of any
real activity and the welcome sounds of engines came on
Saturday afternoon as a slight lull in the wind allowed teams
to crane their boats, but still with difficulty, onto the water to
turn over the engines.
On Sundaymorning and to the relief of all, thewinds of change
finally arrived and the weather relented, the sun was out and
theAradewas calm. The teams nowencountered the daunting
prospect of facing a 90-minute qualifying session and making
F
F1H2O
8
n° 2 June | 2017