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STARK’SWHIRLWIND SEASON
Sweden’s Erik Stark heads to Asia
perched on top of the UIM F1H2O
World
Championship
driver
standings, which days before the
season opener in May seemed a
highly unlikely scenario.
Just days before the Grand Prix
of Portugal, Stark was without a
seat in an overcrowded paddock
and sitting out the season looked
to be his fate. But a last minute
opportunity to team up with
Maverick F1 Racing threw him a
lifeline, securing a point in tenth.
Another late decision to race
and, again running with Maverick,
he took pole and won in London
and that prompted Team Abu
Dhabi to step in and sign him
up, the 30-year-old from Taoby
immediately paying the team back
and winning from pole again and
hit the front in the title race.
Three drivers have led the points
table this year; Shaun Torrente
after Portugal, Philippe Chiappe
after London. Will Stark be able to
stay out front?
TWO NEW VENUES HOST
PHASE 2 OF 2018 TITLE RACE
For phase 2 of the 2018
campaign the UIM F1H2O
World Championship and
drivers show case the series
at two new venues in Asia
heading to Xiangyang in the
Peoples Republic of China
on 21-23 September and
Amaravati in India on 16-18
November.
Xiangyang in Hubei Province
will be the 11th city in the
PRC to host a round of the
championship since its debut
outing in Hangzhou in 1995,
marking its 17th year and
playing out its 24th Grand Prix
in China.
The Grand Prix of Amaravati
sees
the
championship
returning to India for the first
time since 2004 when Mumbai
hosted the season opener.
Of the ‘class’ of 2004 six are
racing today, race winner
Francesco Cantando, Sami
Selio, Thani Al Qemzi, Philippe
Chiappe, Cedric Deguisne and
Duarte Benavente.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Mulla is the red hot favourite
to lift the title this year after dominating the opening rounds
with a perfect score card and leads on 100 points from Italy’s
Roberto Mariani and Alberto Camerlengo.
Al Mulla is seemingly untouchable, on a roll and unbeaten in
his last five Grand Prix outings since Sharjah in 2016.
NEWS
AL MULLA EXTENDS WINNING
STREAK IN FREESTYLE
n° 3 SEPTEMBER | 2018
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